Here is Wikipedia's definition of chick-lit:

"Chick lit" is a slightly uncomplimentary term used to denote popular fiction written for and marketed to young women, especially single young women in their 20s, working in the business world.

This is a somewhat specific definition, but it is basically true. The publishing world tends to look down on chick-lit, yet makes boocoos of money off of the genre. From what I've observed in my reading of much chick-lit, the books tend to cover moments in the lives of women. Their business lives (mostly in urban cities, such as New York or London), their failed or non-existent love lives, and more. Leah and I have recently gotten into Katie Fforde, a British author who writes about 30-something women dealing with children, ex-husbands, failing estates, shipboard ventures and more. I would classify her as chick-lit, even though no one in her books works in the publishing world or is a typical 20-something. I've tried looking for more about chick-lit being a post-feminist form, and this is the best I could with a subscription to "Book" magazine: Guardian Unlimited: The imitation game

So there's my very basic, basic summary of the form born of Fielding's Bridget Jones' Diary.
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