In large part, we are the sum of the ideas we surround ourselves with: the words we read, the images we imbibe, and the thoughts we allow to take up precious space in our minds. In this modern world, women are plied with all forms of media—from advertising, to magazines, to self-help podcasts—that asks us to be better, to be busier, to improve ourselves at the sake of our sanity and even our safety. But is that the only way?

In 2024, the status quo of women’s media has changed. Once, magazines were the singular arbiters of style and opinion—but the digital revolution and its resulting democratisation of taste, combined with many publications’ insistence on determining ‘engagement’ through clicks and traffic count, has dramatically altered the playing field. Bonnie Langedvik, the founder of HURS, a new digital media platform, recently partnered with research agency The Mix to publish a white paper which analysed the state of women’s media as it is now, and the potentials it holds to better serve the women it represents. A total of “79% of women consume women’s media for inspiration,” it reported, “but only 26% come away feeling inspired.”

It’s this search for inspiration that thrust Jess Mester, the founder of The Everywoman, into the journey of building her own publication which could provide an alternative. The Everywoman began, explains Jess, “in the same way that so many business journeys have begun—I couldn’t find something I was looking for in the market and so, I decided to create it.”

Jess, like many modern consumers of women’s magazines, grew up entranced by their potential to provide a portal into another world. “As a young girl growing up in a small regional town, I was always in the newsagency looking at all of the different types of magazines as a form of escapism,” she says. “Everything seemed so exciting and worldly.”

This led Jess into an international career in fashion for over a decade, where she worked with luxury labels like Saint Laurent and Prada, and managed global and local brands. But she stepped away from the industry in 2015 in order to pursue a more purpose-driven career, which led her to switching her focus towards NGOs and social enterprise organisations.

“In recent years, I found there was very little I would feel inspired by in traditional media—and when I did, it was very rare to walk away afterwards feeling good about it,” she says. “Instead, I would feel frustrated by the amount of celebrity PR-driven stories and how photoshopped and unrealistic everything was. By the greenwashing advertorials; by the special issues claiming ‘celebrate and empower women’ which were stacked with pages of advertising by brands that exploit predominantly women workers.”

“It didn’t sit well with me.”

And so, The Everywoman slowly emerged into being. Jess’s aim is to create a media brand that is “first and foremost, values-driven,” she explains, “which features incredible women around the world, and the raw and real conversations we’ll have with them.”

She has appointed Divya Venkataraman as editor of the publication, who brings with her a wealth of media experience and a passion for substantial, compassionate writing that takes its reader seriously. Divya was previously a writer at Vogue Australia, and has contributed to international publications such as the New York Times Style Magazine, The Guardian, Harper’s Bazaar. Like Jess, she is committed to creating a publication for women that nurtures their creativity, and catalyses their energy.

The Everywoman aims to capture the duality of experience that comes with feeling real inspiration: to create a sense of comfort and exploration, of tactile warmth and adventure, all at once. The core of the publication is to provide a harbour to moor yourself at, a gentle release from reality—if only for a while. “Something that holds substance and depth within its pages and is something you want to hold onto, like a favourite book, that you can come back to again and again,” says Jess. “I wanted it to feel special, like a piece of art. And to be full of beauty, true beauty—in the form of photographs that allow a woman’s essence to shine through or her smile lines to be celebrated or a stunning landscape or piece of craftsmanship.”

“And the more I spoke to other women and listened to their thoughts and feelings, the more I realised that a place like this isn’t just wanted by other women—it is needed.”

In order to keep the publication on its clear, purposeful path, it was necessary to have a firm framework with strict boundaries. “I developed a strong idea of what I wanted as a core business checklist,” Jess explains. “Responsible production and sales moving away from the unsustainable current distribution model were key. Aligned ethical and responsible brand partnerships. No photoshopping of women’s bodies. Diversity of cultures and viewpoints, with a global outlook. Real, honest conversations and the ability to hold some of the tougher but necessary conversations in today’s world, in tender and sensitive ways.”

“Something that holds substance and depth within its pages and is something you want to hold onto, like a favourite book, that you can come back to again and again. I wanted it to feel special, like a piece of art. And to be full of beauty, true beauty—in the form of photographs that allow a woman’s essence to shine through or her smile lines to be celebrated or a stunning landscape or piece of craftsmanship.”

And at the heart of The Everywoman, is, of course, its reader—its woman. “What I really want is for women to walk away feeling more connected to themselves and with each other, and our greater collective stories and experiences,” says Jess. “To feel good about themselves and know they are not alone in whatever they may be experiencing and feeling in today’s tumultuous world.”