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Brotopia

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Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley
First edition cover
AuthorEmily Chang
Audio read byEmily Chang[1]
LanguageEnglish
SubjectSexism in Silicon Valley
PublisherPortfolio
Publication date
February 6, 2018
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover and paperback), e-book, audiobook
Pages320
ISBN978-0-7352-1353-1 (hardcover)
OCLC1027011182
331.4/1330979473
LC ClassHD6060.5.U5 C52 2018
Websitewww.brotopiabook.com

Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley is a 2018 nonfiction book by Emily Chang. It is her debut book and was published on February 6, 2018, by Portfolio, a division of Penguin Random House.[1] The book investigates and examines sexism and gender inequality in the technology industry of Silicon Valley.[2]

Background

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Chang drew from over two hundred interviews she conducted across the technology industry. Some of the interviews were from her work at Bloomberg, but most were original and conducted for the purposes of the book.[3]

Publication and promotion

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Vanity Fair ran an excerpt from the book in their January 2018 issue titled ""Oh My God, This Is So F---ed Up": Inside Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Dark Side".[4] Bloomberg Businessweek ran an excerpt in February 2018 titled "Women Once Ruled the Computer World. When Did Silicon Valley Become Brotopia?".[5]

Brotopia was published on February 6, 2018, by Portfolio, a division of Penguin Random House.[1]

Coverage of the book ran in The New York Times,[6] The New York Times Book Review,[7] San Francisco Chronicle,[8] Financial Times,[9] TechCrunch[10] and The Verge.[11]

Chang appeared on Morning Joe,[12] Good Morning America,[13] CBS This Morning[14][15] and Marketplace[16] to discuss the book.

The PBS Newshour-New York Times "Now Read This" book club selected Brotopia as their April 2019 book club read.[17] Chang appeared on the PBS Newshour on April 30, 2019, and answered questions from viewers about the book.[18]

Reception

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Kirkus Reviews called the book a "thorough, important examination" of Silicon Valley, writing, "Chang's scrutiny breaks open a wide doorway, allowing fresh ideas about a tainted industry to circulate and spark discussions."[19]

The book was longlisted for the 2018 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award[20] and was named one of TechCrunch's best tech books of 2018.[21]

Criticism

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The book has faced criticism for its reliance on anecdotal evidence over statistical or causal analysis. In a review for Quillette, software engineer Sean Welsh argued that "such argument as the book offers is colourful mud-slinging on the basis of anecdotes" and that it "does not support its claims with any statistical or causal analysis." Welsh contended that Chang shows "no awareness that gender parity is the exception not the rule in the US workplace," and that documented psychological research on sex differences in occupational preferences (such as systemizing versus empathizing traits) offers more explanatory power for tech's gender imbalances than a deliberate "boys' club."[22]

Elon Musk, featured in a Vanity Fair excerpt from the book about a Silicon Valley party, publicly rejected the portrayal. Musk told Wired that Chang's reporting was "salacious nonsense," accusing her of conflating San Francisco sex clubs with "boring VC parties on the Peninsula." He described the specific party he attended as "boring and corporate, with zero sex or nudity anywhere," calling it "nerds on a couch" rather than the "cuddle puddle" depicted.[23]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Brotopia by Emily Chang". Penguin Random House. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  2. ^ Corbyn, Zoë (March 17, 2018). "Why sexism is rife in Silicon Valley". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
  3. ^ Emily Chang (March 5, 2019). Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley. Penguin Publishing Group. p. 293. ISBN 978-0-525-54017-5.
  4. ^ Chang, Emily (January 2, 2018). ""Oh My God, This Is So F---ed Up": Inside Silicon Valley's Secretive, Orgiastic Dark Side". Vanity Fair. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  5. ^ Chang, Emily (February 1, 2018). "Women Once Ruled the Computer World. When Did Silicon Valley Become Brotopia?". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  6. ^ Szalai, Jennifer (February 7, 2018). "In 'Brotopia,' Silicon Valley Disrupts Everything but the Boys' Club". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Bennett, Jessica (March 19, 2018). "April's Book Club Pick: How Silicon Valley Turned Into 'Brotopia'". The New York Times Book Review. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  8. ^ McDowell, Maghan (February 6, 2018). "In new book, Emily Chang takes a stand against Silicon Valley's 'Brotopia' problem". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  9. ^ Kuchler, Hannah (February 6, 2018). "The antisocial network: how Silicon Valley became a male domain". Financial Times. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  10. ^ Loizos, Connie (February 5, 2018). "In "Brotopia," sex parties are the least of Silicon Valley's problems". TechCrunch. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  11. ^ Liao, Shannon (February 8, 2018). "Emily Chang's Brotopia takes aim at sexism in Silicon Valley". The Verge. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  12. ^ "Make hiring women a priority: 'Brotopia' author". Morning Joe. MSNBC. February 7, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  13. ^ "Author slams the Silicon Valley 'boys' club' in new expose". Good Morning America. American Broadcasting Company. February 5, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  14. ^ ""Brotopia" explores the roots of Silicon Valley's sexism problem". CBS This Morning. CBS News. February 10, 2018. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  15. ^ ""Brotopia" author: Progress toward gender equality "happening slowly" in tech industry". CBS This Morning. CBS News. March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  16. ^ Ryssdal, Kai; Bodnar, Bridget (February 7, 2018). "What will it take to change Silicon Valley's bro culture?". Marketplace. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  17. ^ Flock, Elizabeth (March 28, 2019). "'Brotopia' is April's pick for the PBS NewsHour-New York Times book club". PBS NewsHour. PBS. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  18. ^ "'Brotopia' author Emily Chang answers your questions". PBS NewsHour. PBS. April 30, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  19. ^ "Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley by Emily Chang". Kirkus Reviews. February 7, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  20. ^ Hill, Andrew (August 12, 2018). "Business Book of the Year 2018 — the longlist". Financial Times.
  21. ^ Biggs, John (December 27, 2018). "The best tech books of 2018". TechCrunch. Retrieved April 13, 2026.
  22. ^ Welsh, Sean (October 12, 2018). "Brotopia by Emily Chang — Analysis and Review". Quillette. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
  23. ^ "Elon Musk, Guests Dispute DFJ Silicon Valley Event Was 'Cuddle Puddle'". Business Insider. January 12, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2026.
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