WomensForum•com

Our Story Begins in Chicago, in the fall of 1996...

It's hard to believe, but we've really been at this, that long. Long before the world had Google, iTunes, or even Carrie and Mr. Big (can you imagine?!), there was Womensforum.com.

For those of you who are too busy taking care of your kids and spouse and job, and occasionally, even yourself-- to remember what happened last week, let alone 13 years ago, let me take you back to the beginning, so you get a sense of just how special our community truly is.

Here we go.

Back in 1996, there were very few well-recognized sites that catered to women--let alone busy moms (redundant?) or working moms (again, redundant).  And just as scarce, were advertisers who directed their attention to engaging these women online. In the minds of the industry experts, the Internet was and would forever be, the domain of men.

Pick yourself up off the floor, ladies, and let's continue....LOL.

At that time, most marketers didn't consider women viable online consumers and spent relatively few dollars trying to attract them. Despite what we have always known about our massively influential spending power, women's sites that were supported by advertising were few and far between.

However, even then, a quiet revolution was taking place. Away from the glare of media hype and publicity, homespun women's sites were sprouting up. Sites that were created by real women (and men), not corporations or businesses funded by deep-pocketed investors. Sites that had heart, personality, rich content, and a comfortable way of inviting viewers in. Sites that were created by real people you could relate to.

These sites were small businesses built by people (often out of their homes) who embraced teamwork, relationships, and working together. They stood in stark contrast to the large corporations, major media properties, and high-profile personalities who would eventually spend huge sums of money to build what people today call women's portals.

Most of these sites were small businesses, often built by publishers out of their home, who embraced teamwork, relationships, and working together. They stood in stark contrast to the large corporations, major media properties, and high-profile personalities who would eventually spend huge sums of money to build what people today refer to as portals.  A time when there were very few universally recognized sites catering to women's interests and equally few marketers who directed their attention to them. In the minds of the industry 'experts', the Internet was the domain of men. Most marketers didn't consider women viable online consumers and spent few dollars attracting them.

Even then, my co-founder, Mark Kaufman, and I, envisioned that women would ultimately become the Web's largest and most valuable audience. Keeping the female entrepreneur in mind, we set out to build a cooperating network of women's websites and their owners who would bring together the collective energy, vision, and talent to compete with and beat, even the largest industry competitors.

Central to this business Partnership would be a supporting organization which would provide its Partners with the resources and tools they would need to support and grow their businesses.

Starting with 13 women's sites, the Partner network was born and the new organization was christened womensforum.com.

Our Mission

To build the most successful network of entrepreneurial Web sites by bringing together the talents, efforts, and relationships necessary for a greater collective success.

womensforum.com Today

Today, womensforum.com is a Top 5 community for women online and is visited by 8 million women and girls each month. Through the ups and downs of these volatile times, our Partners have stuck together and have emerged as industry leaders in building rich, credible, and inviting communities for women and girls at all stages of their lives, whatever their interests and lifestyles.

Whether you are a viewer, a Web site publisher, or a sponsor, we welcome you into the womensforum.com family and hope that you will visit and enjoy all of our sites.

If you represent a sponsor or agency and would like additional sales information, please contact our Sponsorship and Sales office at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it