5.4 - Views from the Top and Bottom of Success in the Silicon Valley
OverviewObjectivesEssayVocabularyDiscussion QuestionsActivity 1Activity 2 Activity 3 Further Information StandardsCredits
Grade: 7-12Subject: English Language Arts, U.S. History
Number of Activities: 3
Overview:
Asian Americans have contributed greatly to the Silicon Valley high tech boom beginning in the 1980s to present day. The technological innovations that came out of Silicon Valley enabled the United States to become a global IT leader as the region in San Francisco Bay Area became the birthplace for many high tech companies, such as the search company Yahoo! While some high-profile Asian American entrepreneurs were able to build highly lucrative companies, the contributions of Asian immigrants who performed the piecework labor that made these new innovative machines function was also an important factor to Silicon Valley’s growth and success.
 
Learning Objectives:
Students will:
 
Topic/Background Essay:
Asian Americans are significant contributors to the high tech boom in California’s Silicon Valley, which began in the late twentieth century and continues today. In the 1990s, the Silicon Valley was a fertile field of innovation. Its allure attracted many college-educated professionals in the computing and technological fields. Highly-skilled Asian Americans and Asian immigrants worked to establish successful high tech start-up companies—over 40 percent of them—during this period. For example, Jerry Yang co-founded Yahoo! in 1994, eventually becoming one of the largest Internet search engine companies.
Other impactful companies founded or co-founded by Asian Americans include: YouTube by Chinese American Steve Chen and Bangladeshi-German American Jawed Karim; Zoom by Chinese American Eric Yuan; LinkedIn by Vietnamese American Eric Thich Vi Ly; Fitbit by Korean American James Park; and Sun Microsystems by Indian American Vinod Khosla.
By the turn of the 21st century, the business model that began in Silicon Valley became a global phenomenon. Some Asian American entrepreneurs utilized their Asian identity and international connections to establish overseas business partnerships, leading to the globalization of the high tech industry. Their efforts helped companies based in Silicon Valley to build relationships with manufacturers in India, China, South Korea, and other Asian nations.
While some Asian American entrepreneurs were able to build lucrative companies, their success was made possible because of the labor of many lower-income Asian Americans, often in ways that were not widely acknowledged. In Silicon Valley, Asian immigrants—many refugees from Southeast Asia during the 1970s and 1980s, including the Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, and Hmong—found employment as piecework laborers for high-tech companies.
Although Asian immigrant piecework laborers often lacked college degrees and earned low wages, their efforts helped to make Silicon Valley an American “success story.” Multiple viewpoints remind us that, while there may be opportunities available to some Asian Americans, not all are recipients of the wealth.
 
Vocabulary:
 
Discussion Questions:
 
Activity 1: Asian American Entrepreneurs and Pieceworkers
Students should do a one to two-page reflective writing piece that thoughtfully responds to the following writing prompt:
While learning about the contributions of Asian Americans during the Silicon Valley high tech boom in the 1990s, why is it important to consider the stories of both entrepreneurs and piecework laborers?
 
Activity 2: The Wealth Gap of Silicon Valley
Ask students to read these articles:
CalMatters. “Silicon Valley’s vast wealth disparity deepens as poverty increased” February 17, 2023. https://calmatters.org/california-divide/2023/02/silicon-valley-inequality/.
McNulty, Jennifer. “Nine in 10 Silicon Valley jobs pay less now than 20 years ago.” University of California.edu, October 10, 2018.https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/nine-10-silicon-valley-jobs-pay-less-now-20-years-ago.
Then, have a class discussion on:
 
Activity 3: Asian American Entrepreneurs and Their Impact on the World
Ask students to choose an Asian American entrepreneur, either someone who founded, co-founded, or played a key role in the company.
Teachers can compile a list of Asian American entrepreneurs as a basis for the research process. The list should include a range of roles, fields, and genders. The following is an example of a list that might start the conversation. Teachers should elicit students for their suggestions and crowdsource a list of entrepreneurs:
Name Company Role
Jerry Yang Yahoo! Co-Founder
Steve Chen and Jawed Karim YouTube Co-Founders
Eric Yuan Zoom Founder
Eric Thich Vi Ly LinkedIn Co-Founder
James Park Fitbit Co-Founder
Vinod Khosla Sun Microsystems Co-Founder
Michelle Phan Em Cosmetics Founder
Charlotte Cho Soko Glam Founder
Jason Wu Jason Wu (fashion designer) Founder
David Chang Momofuku; Milk Bar Founder
Roy Choi Kogi BBQ Truck Founder
Reshma Saujani Girls Who Code Founder
Anjali Sud Vimeo Chief Executive Officer
Ellen Pao Project Include Co-Founder
Tony Hsieh Zappos Founder
Teachers should then direct students to select an individual from the list and conduct research on that person and their company. Students will answer the following in a written document:
Extensions:
After students have selected an entrepreneur to research, ask them to consider the variety of roles that make their entrepreneur(s)’ company functional. Beyond the founders and leadership, what jobs contribute to a company’s day-to-day work? Students can create a brainstorming cloud that generates a list of as many roles and responsibilities at a company, such as janitorial staff, budget analysts, or bus drivers who drive the workers from home to the office.
For more information, direct students to this report on “invisible” workers who support the tech industry:
“Tech’s Invisible Workforce.” Silicon Valley Rising. March, 2016. https://siliconvalleyrising.org/files/TechsInvisibleWorkforce.pdf
 
Further Information:
Kochhar, Rakesh, and Anthony Cilluffo. “Income Inequality in the U.S. Is Rising Most Rapidly Among Asians.” Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project, December 31, 2019. https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2018/07/12/income-inequality-in-the-u-s-is-rising-most-rapidly-among-asians.
Saxenian, AnnaLee. “Silicon Valley’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs.” The Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, 2000. https://escholarship.org/content/qt88x6505q/qt88x6505q.pdf.