Foxconn Encourages Women in India to Take Up Design & Other Tech Leadership Roles

By: WE Staff | Monday, 26 August 2024

Young Liu, Chairman of iPhone contract manufacturer, Foxconn is promoting women to leadership roles in design and technology sectors in India. This move aligns with global tech industry trends, where increasing focus on gender diversity in leadership roles is seen as crucial for driving innovation and growth. Foxconn's 48,000 employees in India are predominantly women with 25 per cent of new hires married.

Foxconn is promoting women into key positions to foster diversity and inclusion, aiming to empower its female workforce and enhance its capabilities in cutting-edge fields, with 70 per cent women and 30 per cent men working. Foxconn Chairman, Young Liu mentioned, "We see not only the assembly work for women but also some design technology-related positions. A lot of our current employees are highly educated. We would like to give them more opportunity to advance their position, not just limited to assembly work."

The electronics contract manufacturer has recently inaugurated a women-only residential complex built by the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) near Chennai after the company suffered backlash for a controversy surrounding discriminatory practices being carried out against married women candidates in India. More than 18,000 women employees can reside in these newly inaugurated women-only residential complexes.

Foxconn further plans to set up its second-largest mobile manufacturing plant in Karnataka, India, with an investment of Rs 25,000 crore, creating 40,000 jobs. The company is also in talks with the Tamil Nadu government to establish a battery energy storage unit focused on electric vehicles.