Ms. Cantor's surfing preferences are typical of those of many women, who, research shows, have different on-line interests than men. And as the gender gap to Internet access closes and women actually spend more time on-line than men, there are increasingly compelling arguments for sites geared to women. Jennifer Evans, national director of Toronto-based DigitalEve Canada ,a women's technology network, agrees. Career women, she says, look to the Web for help balancing work and home. Mothers, especially with small children, often use the Net to connect with people outside the home.
Women tend to seek hobby and lifestyle sites, health information and chat sessions.
The kinds of purchases the sexes make are different, too. And that spells opportunity. Rogers iMedia president Tim Root says the site was intended as a place for Canadian women to go to manage their busy lives, focusing more on tools such as fitness tests and less on text. But the expense didn't justify its presence. We recognized very early on that what we have in common with the people we're targeting is our magazines, so we made sure we would have enough content in our portal for our target audience to find something they are familiar with.