Chick Lit Meets Silicon Valley: Ana Yen’s Sophia of Silicon Valley and Elisabeth Cohen’s The Glitch

Abstract

Abstract Alongside the stereotypically feminine themes of personal relationships and consumption, chick lit also addresses work, which often leads to the question of “can a woman have it all?” Anna Yen’s Sophia of Silicon Valley (2018) and Elisabeth Cohen’s The Glitch (2018) take up this theme in Silicon Valley, where every aspect of life is damagingly subordinated to work and “having it all” comes to mean at best “having a job.” It emerges that, despite its overtly progressive, “cool” image, Silicon Valley perpetuates paternalistic structures. Although their rise to CEO status might appear to illustrate women’s empowerment, both protagonists remain unable or unwilling to transform the underlying values and power structures of their male-dominated organizations.