101 Best Web Sites For Women
30/06/2002

It's not a man's world out there on the Web any more. Women are heading online in record numbers - to the point where, last year, the number of women online in the USA overtook the number of men.

So what are women doing on the Web? The same things that they're doing in their offline lives. They're shopping, finding information, doing business, doing the finances, organising the household. Research has shown that women tend to use the Internet in a different way to men - as a tool to make their lives easier, rather than simply as entertainment. They're not into aimless browsing; they want to find what they're looking for, fast. Sarah Kay, founder of nzwomen.com, sums it up: "The Web provides women with new opportunities and empowerment. Isolated women can now communicate with like-minded women all over the world. Mundane, time-consuming chores like grocery shopping, sourcing recipes or even planning an event, can all be done online - in less time and in some cases under budget! Time is always an issue for women, and the Web provides them with an opportunity to get things done faster, to learn what they need to know, and focus any spare time on personal development."

Marketers have quickly latched on to this. They recognise that women, more often than not, have control of the household income, have huge spending power and are looking for solutions to everyday problems.

The most popular sites with women right now are about health, business and education. But pretty much anything a woman wants to do - no matter whether she's 8 or 80 - she can find out there on the Web. Here's a roundup of some of the best places to start.

One-stop shops
www.women.com
The mother of them all (pardon the pun). The original US women's portal, featuring information on all topics relevant to women's lives, is still going strong. You could easily spend an hour here.

Others to check out:
www.oxygen.com
www.ivillage.com
www.thelounge.com.au
www.cybergrrl.com
www.phenomenalwomen.com
www.un.org/womenwatch
womencentral.msn.com
www.totalwoman.com
www.womensnet.net
www.womenswire.com
www.wwwomen.com

Reference points:
International Women's Web Sites
Women's Resources on the Internet
UN Web site
Top 100 Women's Sites

Health
www.womens-health.com
A fantastic resource for information on women's health. Their mission is to empower women with gender specific knowledge, and they do it in a nicely designed, easy to follow way.

Others to check out:
www.healthsquare.com
www.helioshealth.com
www.queendom.com
www.melpomene.org

Money/finance
www.fool.co.uk/women/finance/intro.htm
The Motley Fool's excellent women's section. It's not aimed specifically at NZers, but it does have some great articles and advice on things like how to handle money arguments at home, and how to get out of debt. Well worth a visit.

Others to check out:
www.ivillage.com/money
www.womensfinance.com
www.msmoney.com

Business/Career
www.workingwoman.com
A great collection of resources for working women, working mothers, entrepreneurs and professionals. The site is organised into eight categories: Small Business, Career, Personal Finance, Legal Issues, Networking, Balance, News, and Technology.

Others to check out:
www.herwebbiz.com
www.wisewomen.org.nz
www.womeninc.com

Travel
www.journeywoman.com
A fascinating site with heaps of great tips from women travellers, from all over the world. Advice on everything from what to buy in Sydney to how to travel alone and not be hassled.

Cosmetics/Beauty
www.cosmeticconnection.com
Here's a fantastic site that features reviews of hundreds of beauty products - by real people, not beauty editors or the scary cosmetic counter ladies. It's fascinating, and a great way to save yourself the trouble of finding out that $85 moisturiser doesn't really work.

Others to check out:
livingnature.com
www.cosmeticscop.com
www.makeupmania.com/daily/daily_tue.cfm
www.bobbibrowncosmetics.com
www.spacadet.com
www10.ibeauty.com/index.jsp
www.philosophy.com
www.allure.com

Relationships
relationships.com
Looking for a date? They've got 3 million members.

Others to check out:
www.blissezine.com/home.htm
www.swoon.com
www.match.com
www.10kforawife.com
www.surrenderedwife.com

Sport/fitness
www.efit.com
A large and varied site with information and tools for all kinds of sporting and fitness activities.Learn about everything from yoga to golf;even the most sluggish person should be able to get inspired here.

Others to check out:
www.womensmultisport.com
www.gslis.utexas.edu/~lewisa/womsprt.html
www.womenssportscareers.com
www.feminist.org/research/sports2.html
www.femmefan.com

Diet/nutrition
www.cyberdiet.com
A hugely comprehensive site to visit if you're fighting the battle of the bulge. Plan your daily eating, get recipes, chat to other dieters. You can even compare the nutrition and calorie contents of all kinds of fast foods. Heaps of useful fat-fighting tools.

Others to check out:
www.dietwatch.com
www.dietsite.com
www.foundhealth.com
www.nutrition.gov
nutrition.about.com
www.dietitian.com/ibw/ibw.html
www.zoneperfect.com
www.atkinscenter.com

Feminism
www.feminist.com
A comprehensive site featuring a good archive of speeches and articles, news on women's issues, inspiring quotes and information on current feminist activism campaigns.

Others to check out:
Feminist Theory
Yahoo! Women's Studies directory

Teenagers
www.goosehead.com
The famous one, started by 15 year old budding dot-com millionaire Ashley Power. Despite the hype, and the inordinate number of pouty pics of Ashley that appear on the site, it really is pretty cool. And the teenage (and younger) girls really love it.

Others to check out:
www.gurlwurld.com
www.go-girl.com
www.smartgirl.com
trackers.oxygen.com
www.beinggirl.com

Mothering
www.hipmama.com
A nice change from a lot of the very earnest parenting sites out there, Hipmama contains well-written essays from the frontline of mothering, community support and sage advice, with some humorous touches.

Others to check out:
www.parentsoup.com
www.bluesuitmom.com
www.parentscentre.org.nz
www.guerrillagrrls.com/home.htm
members.ll.net/naturalmothering
www.journale.com/teenmothers

Entertainment & Arts
www.hbo.com/city/index.shtml
Sex and the City

Others to check out:
www.oprah.com
astronet.women.com/ast
www.smileandactnice.com
www.rockrgrl.com
www.womenwriters.net
home.cybergrrl.com/review
www.chicklit.com
www.nmwa.org
www.wellesley.edu/Library/wombks/homepage/page1.html
www.people.virginia.edu/~pm9k/libsci/womFilm.html

Famous women
www.distinguishedwomen.com

Fashion
www.style.com
Home of that great fashion magazine, InStyle, and Vogue, this site has a satisfying number of pictures of celebrities and the impossible things they wear.

Others to check out:
www.richundercover.com
www.hintmag.com
www.eluxury.com
www.victoriassecret.com/index.html
www.glamour.com
www.bcbg.com
www.yslonline.com
www.girlshop.com

Women in IT
www.binarygirl.com
www.webgrrls.org.nz
www.siliconsalley.com
www.womengamers.com
www.wowwomen.com
www.sdsc.edu/hopper
missinformation.com

Senior sites
www.seniorwomen.com
www.wewomen.com/indsen3.shtml
www.journeywoman.com/olderadv/50plus.html
www.links.co.nz/family/seniors.htm
womans-net.com
www.neatwomeninc.com