My wife started on a Kahr 9mm (CW9) as her carry conceal of choice. She also spends a lot of trigger time on her Walther P-22 and is starting to shoot a Kahr CW40 (.40 S&W) now...
My wife had never shot a handgun before (let alone a rifle) when she decided she wanted to start shooting and get her CCW.
First and foremost is finding a gun that fits her hands, if it isn't comfortable in her hands and doesn't fit well it will not be comfortable to shoot and she won't shoot it. Fit in hand and trigger pull is very important. So spend some time having her fondle a ton of options and narrow it down to the ones that feel good in her hands and fit her. We spent hours one day at a gun show where my wife handles probably 60 or more different handguns before narrowing it down to 3 that fit her...but the Kahr was far and above her top choice (and it's American made!). My wife has small hands and barely weighs 100 pounds and has little fingers...so reach to the trigger and pull were important, she really loved the trigger on the Kahr. That being said, she also really loves her P-22 and loves how it handles.
As someone else noted, don't ignore the wheel guns (my wife also has a lady smith in 38 that she likes to shoot...but she does carry the Kahr CW9)...and RR also points out a good option of the .380...I can say my wife and daughter (who is 8) both love to shoot my PPK in 380....bottom line, find a gun that fits her...go from there!