By Munsif Vengattil and Aditya Kalra
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – The women’s wing of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party on Friday urged the National Commission for Women to launch an investigation after Reuters reported that Apple (NASDAQ:) supplier Foxconn is turning away married women from iPhone assembly jobs in the country.
“It is imperative to conduct a thorough investigation into these claims and ensure that the rights of female employees at Foxconn Hon Hai are protected,” wrote Vanathi Srinivasan, national president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s women’s wing ( BJP) in a letter to the Commission. posted on X.
In response to the letter, Rekha Sharma, chairperson of the National Commission for Women, wrote about X: “we are doing the needful.” She did not elaborate.
The National Commission for Women has the authority to investigate all matters related to the guarantees afforded to women by the Constitution and other laws, according to its website. It also has the power of a civil court to summon anyone.
Apple and Foxconn did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A Reuters investigation published on Tuesday found that Foxconn has systematically excluded married women from jobs at its main Indian iPhone factory near Chennai in Tamil Nadu state because they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts.
Foxconn HR officers and HR sources interviewed by Reuters cited family responsibilities, pregnancy and higher absenteeism as reasons why Foxconn did not hire married women at the factory.
The story has sparked debates on TV channels and newspaper articles.
In the letter, Srinivasan referred to Foxconn’s reported hiring practices as a “serious problem.”
“It has come to our attention through various media sources that Foxconn has engaged in discriminatory practices against married women,” Srinivasan wrote.
The letter also said that the BJP’s women’s wing was aware that female employees at Foxconn are not even allowed to use the washroom during working hours, and those staying in hostels are not allowed to take leave. Srinivasan’s letter did not elaborate on these points.
Earlier this week, Modi’s labor ministry said it had asked the Tamil Nadu Labor Ministry for a detailed report on the matter.
In response to questions from Reuters for their report on Tuesday, Apple and Foxconn acknowledged flaws in 2022 hiring practices and said they had worked to address the issues. However, all of the discriminatory practices documented by Reuters at the Sriperumbudur factory occurred in 2023 and 2024. The two companies did not elaborate on the 2023 and 2024 incidents.
Apple said that “when we first raised concerns about hiring practices in 2022, we took immediate action and worked with our supplier to conduct monthly audits to identify issues and ensure our high standards are being met,” adding that all of its suppliers , including Foxconn, people hire married woman.
Foxconn said it “strongly refutes allegations of employment discrimination based on marital status, gender, religion or any other form.”
The hiring restrictions at the iPhone factory highlight the challenge for both Apple and Foxconn in maintaining their established global standards for inclusivity while expanding their supply chains in this fast-growing but largely conservative country.
Modi has previously called for the removal of social barriers that prevent many Indian women from getting jobs. Although Foxconn employs thousands of women in India, discrimination based on marital status threatens to undermine the prime minister’s goals.
(For the full story on Reuters.com, click https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/foxconn-apple-india-women/)
