[Knitebane]

Mrs. Knitebane is about 5'3" and regularly carries one of these:

That's the 2.25" hammerless Ruger SP101 in .357 (it shoots .38 Specials just fine) with the factory installed Crimson Trace lasergrips.

The recoil is negligible with .38s and manageable (if a bit loud) with .357 Magnum. As Mrs. Knitebane is still a bit recoil (and big BOOM!) shy, she's currently carrying .38 +Ps.

I will say this, though. There are Ruger people and Smith and Wesson people. Mrs. Knitebane likes the way the Ruger fits in her hand and didn't care for the Smith. I know other people that have the opposite opinion. Best bet is to go down to your local gun range and see if you can try out both of them.

[investigateworld]

Another vote for 2 inch, hammer concealed .38 Cal. revolvers. Very popular with undercover type LEOs, of both the male and female variety.