Over the years I've taught several women how to shoot. Most recently, my girlfriend.
I start at home by showing them a number of different types and sizes of handguns. I let them look, handle and dry fire as much as they like. Also let her dig around in the safe to see if something catches their fancy. Then we go over the safety rules until she has that down pat.
Off to the range with a number of different guns. Include both revolvers and semi and also one J-frame .38. Most women tend to gravitate towards the little J-frame. However, most also only shoot one cylinder full and then decide its not for them. I think its good to at least let them try it for themselves.
I start her off with a Model 18 and a .22 semi-auto. Move up to a Model 10 with light loads. Then on to more powerful .38 loads. Next up is a medium sized 9mm.
If she's still game at this point, we'll break out the .44 Special and .45 acps just to give her a taste.
The important thing is to give her as much variety as possible to choose from.
The absolute most important thing is to let her decide what she likes and works for her.
In the case of my girlfriend, she asked me to take her to the up coming gun show. She came home with a really nice 2" Model 10-8. She loves it!
Her choice made me plumb proud of her.