Attracting Women to Your Business Section

By: Charles Bowen Women control 85% of household spending and, according to recent studies, are twice as likely as men to manage the family finances. And yet, many business reporters and editors think they're writing primarily for a male audience. Is your paper among them?

A powerful new Web site can raise our awareness of the growing influence that women have both in the household and business world. At the same time, the site's very existence offers a subtle warning: If traditional news operations don't take steps to expand the appeal of their business pages to include women, the site itself is more than happy to become the primary resource for women's business news. "Women now more than ever are seeking financial advice from friends and colleagues, professionals and the Internet to get their financial questions answered," says an online statement. The site, it adds, will be "a place where women can get real answers from people they can trust: other financially successful women."

Women's Wall Street offers a market snapshot, business news headlines, and standing features, including clever personal columns with names like "Stox in the City," "Ask Jane Dough," and "Can These Finances Be Saved?"

"This Week's Feature" looks at issues missed by the general business press. A recent story headlined "A Woman by Any Other Name" looked at problems for newly married women who decide to adopt a hyphenated name after the wedding ceremony. "For starters," noted the story, "there can be tax implications that could impact your retirement savings if you don't continue using your birth name with perfect consistency on federal documents." For more stories in this vein, check out the "Gender Gap" in the "Columns" section at the bottom of the home page. The section includes stories on money and relations, surveys of women's purchasing power, and the on-going contest between family and careers.

For more organized browsing of the site, check out the navigation bar at the top of each screen, which provides quick access to sections devoted to stocks and news, investing, financial planning, career, life and family, big purchases, and the online community.

Other considerations for using Women's Wall Street in your writing and editing:

1. If you write about the site in your news pages, you might want to mention that visitors can sign up for free to become registered members. Members can customize their own home pages with information they need to chart their finances, with specific stocks and mutual funds and other data. A link on the front of the site gives details.

2. Working on a financial story that needs specific calculations for your examples? Look for "Calculators" in the "Tools" section. The site offers dozens of job-specific calculators on topics such as mortgages ("Should I refinance my home?" "Should I rent or buy?") careers ("What is the salary for my occupation in my location?" "How much do I need to save for college?") investments ("How can I save a million dollars?" "How much did a gallon of milk cost 20 years ago?"), retirement ("Which is better for me, a traditional IRA or a Roth?" "How long will my savings last?") and more.

3. If you need more background on the site, visit the "Press Room," which includes an online media kit, downloadable in Adobe Acrobat format.
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