Indian Labor Officials Investigate Foxconn Factory Over Allegations of Discrimination Against Married Women

Indian Labor Officials Investigate Foxconn Factory Over Allegations of Discrimination Against Married WomenOn July 4th, following allegations that Apple's primary supplier, Foxconn, was denying married women employment opportunities in iPhone assembly, officials from India's Labor Ministry visited a Foxconn facility in southern India to question executives about the company's hiring practices.According to A

Indian Labor Officials Investigate Foxconn Factory Over Allegations of Discrimination Against Married Women

On July 4th, following allegations that Apple's primary supplier, Foxconn, was denying married women employment opportunities in iPhone assembly, officials from India's Labor Ministry visited a Foxconn facility in southern India to question executives about the company's hiring practices.

According to A. Narasaiah, the regional labor commissioner in India, a team of five officials from the federal government's regional labor department visited the Foxconn factory near Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on July 1st, engaging in discussions with company directors and human resources executives. Neither Foxconn nor Apple provided any comments regarding the visit.

Last week, the Indian government expressed significant concern about the situation, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration demanding detailed reports from both local and federal labor departments.

"We are gathering information and have asked the company to submit documents, including their corporate policies, hiring criteria, proof of compliance with labor laws, and information on maternity leave and retirement benefits," Narasaiah stated. "They told us they were not discriminating."

Narasaiah revealed that Foxconn informed labor officials that the factory employs 41,281 individuals, with 33,360 being women. Among these women, approximately 2,750 are married. Narasaiah mentioned that Foxconn did not provide a breakdown of the workforce by specific areas, such as the iPhone assembly section, which was the location where media reports previously suggested discrimination was occurring.

He added that labor inspectors conducted random interviews with 40 married women at the factory, none of whom raised any concerns about discrimination. Narasaiah emphasized that the findings of this investigation did not directly point to systematic discrimination against married women in Foxconn's hiring processes.

Narasaiah indicated that he does not currently intend to question third-party recruitment agencies responsible for locating candidates for Foxconn and bringing them to the factory for interviews.

Last week, media reports published investigations alleging that Foxconn systematically excluded married women from assembly jobs at its primary Indian iPhone factory, citing reasons such as their higher familial responsibilities compared to unmarried women, as well as the likelihood of pregnancies and increased absentee rates.

This incident rapidly sparked widespread controversy across various media platforms, with opposition leaders and women's rights organizations, even including members within Prime Minister Modi's own party, strongly demanding a thorough investigation.

Although Apple and Foxconn acknowledged issues with their hiring practices in 2022 and stated that they had taken steps to address them, media reports documented discriminatory actions at the Tamil Nadu factory occurring in 2023 and 2024. Both companies have refrained from responding to these recent allegations.

Foxconn previously asserted its "strong opposition" to accusations of employment discrimination based on marital status, gender, religion, or any other factor. Apple stated that all its suppliers, including Foxconn, employ married women, and that "when the initial concerns about hiring practices were raised in 2022, we took immediate action and worked with our suppliers to conduct monthly audits to identify problems and ensure our high standards are being implemented."

It's crucial to note that while both Apple and Foxconn's policies prohibit any form of discriminatory hiring practices within their supply chain, Indian law does not expressly prevent companies from discriminating based on marital status during the recruitment process.