Caring, connecting, and transforming: How we’re celebrating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

At Zoom, caring is more than just a core value, it's part of our DNA. Our CEO Eric S. Yuan founded Zoom in 2011 with care as its focus - envisioning a business where people care for our community, our customers, our company, our teammates, and ourselves.

That ethos helped Zoom attract a strong B2B customer base. As the widespread adoption of Zoom solutions led to rapid growth, we remained true to our core value of care. But alongside this transformation, a deeply troubling trend outside of the day-to-day business was emerging.

The rise of AAPI hate

During the pandemic, discrimination against Asian Americans skyrocketed. So did hate crimes. According to data from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, anti-Asian hate crime increased by 339 percent in 2021compared with the year before.

Eric joined other business leaders in calling for change, putting an ad in The Wall Street Journal that demanded action, which stated:

"The Asian American business leaders in our community are committed to fighting for change. The change that is needed requires a national awakening and a dialogue that involves leaders from every community if we are to undo the generations of systemic bias and racism. We are business leaders. We can help make change happen."

Helping make that change happen

Inside Zoom, our leadership team supported employees through an internal Employee Resource Group (ERG) called Pacific Islander and Asian Cultures Together (PACT). Like our other ERGs, PACT helps foster a sense of community and allyship, creating opportunities for all Zoomies to connect, share ideas, and support each other.

We also looked outward, leveraging our growth to care for communities. Our social impact arm, Zoom Cares, has given tens of millions of dollars to nonprofits working to make the world a better, more just place - including many AAPI nonprofits. Among them are Dear Asian Youth, Hoi-Quan Cuu Long Mekong Community Center Inc, Vietnamese Voluntary Foundation, and Make Us Visible.

In May 2021, Zoom Cares committed $5 million over three years to the AAPI community through grant dollars, in-kind product donations, and employee giving and volunteering. As part of this initiative, Zoom Cares is partnering with The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) to support their Education Initiative with $1.5 million over three years to accelerate and expand the teaching of AAPI studies in K-12 in all 50 states.

We are stronger together

This brings us to AANHPI (Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders) Heritage Month. Recently, we attended The Asian American Foundation Heritage Month Summit & Celebration. This important annual event - with a theme of "Together We Build Power" - underlines how much stronger we are together.

At the event, we joined 1,000+ Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders working to cultivate community, build relationships, and inspire action. It was moving and inspiring to see how the Asian American diaspora is so vast yet our experiences are so similar.

We're part of a $1.1 billion effort that demonstrates solidarity in the face of discrimination. It shows that we - and many others - stand firmly behind TAAF's commitment to ensuring Asian American and Pacific Islander stories are celebrated as part of American history. As TAAF says, "Every single one of us is part of the American story."

What you can do

Are you ready to connect and make a difference? A good place to start is in your local community. Check out TAAF's AAPI nonprofit databaseto find nonprofits in your area that you may want to support. To learn more about our partners and how we support them, take a look at the Zoom Cares website and be on the lookout for our FY2024 Impact Report.