This paper presents a comparative analysis of two late nineteenth-century magazines' positions on women's work and independent living: The Girl's Own Paper, published in the United Kingdom, and La Mujer, published in Colombia. This article argues that the ways in which both magazines navigated between tradition and modernity were influenced by their respective publishing markets and readerships. The Girl's Own Paper defended a progressive attitude on these matters, mostly because of market demands. In order to be successful, The Girl's Own Paper had to respond to the current demands of its readers for information about work and career opportunities. On the other hand, La Mujer and its editor Soledad Acosta de Samper, largely due to the editorial freedom of a less consolidated press market and readership, created a contradictory discourse that oscillated between tradition and modernity.