Reuters Investigation Unveils Discriminatory Hiring Practices

Newsreel Asia Insight #263
June 26, 2024

At the Foxconn flagship iPhone assembly plant in southern India, married female candidates are systematically excluded from employment opportunities, contradicting both Apple’s and Foxconn’s policies which state that workers should not face discrimination based on marital status, suggests an investigation by Reuters.

The investigative report by Reuters has revealed that Foxconn, located in Sriperumbudur near Chennai, systematically excludes married women from employment at its primary Indian iPhone assembly plant. The company’s executives allegedly verbally convey these recruitment rules to its Indian hiring agencies.

For many Indian women, a job building iPhones represents an opportunity to escape extreme poverty. These positions offer food, accommodation and a monthly salary of about $200, roughly in line with India’s per capita GDP.

However, there are “reasons” cited for this discrimination. A former HR executive at Foxconn India explained to the newswire that “cultural issues” and societal pressures underpin the practice. The company believes that post-marriage, women face “many issues,” including the likelihood of having children.

“Risk factors increase when you hire married women,” the executive was quoted as saying.

Some other current and former Foxconn HR executives mentioned that jewellery worn by married Hindu women could interfere with production.

While the ban isn’t absolute, with Foxconn relaxing the practice during high-production periods when facing labour shortages, it remains a significant barrier for married women seeking employment, the newswire noted.

Both Apple and Foxconn refuted the allegations.

Foxconn outsources its hiring of assembly-line workers to third-party vendors registered with the Tamil Nadu state government, according to Reuters. These agencies scout for candidates, who are then interviewed and selected by Foxconn.

The exposure of these hiring practices raises concerns about one of the highest-profile foreign investments in India. As Apple positions India as an alternative manufacturing base to China amid geopolitical tensions, and the central government sees Foxconn’s iPhone factory as a step towards moving up the economic value chain, the discriminatory practices risk undercutting these aims, the newswire warns.

A 2022 report, titled “Opportunities for married women at workplace: Still a work-in-progress,” published by The Economic Times’ HR World stated, “There is a common consensus across industries that women have to let go of their careers after a certain period of time, and especially after the phase of their marriages. Surprisingly, men are never asked to do so!”

While Indian law doesn’t explicitly bar companies from discriminating in hiring based on marital status, the practice may interfere with an individual’s fundamental right to freedom of trade and occupation, Suhasini Rao, a Bengaluru-based lawyer specialising in labour regulations, is quoted as saying by Reuters.

Violations of labour laws by corporations are frequently revealed through third-party recruiters or service providers, a fact that corporations often use to excuse themselves. Nevertheless, the ultimate responsibility for such discrimination or malpractices rests with these corporations, which cannot absolve themselves of their failures in oversight.