I recently replaced the Mavic wheels on my 2011 Ruby Elite with Shimano RS81 C24 wheels and noticed an improvement in handling as well as acceleration.

Given that you are a female cyclist, you too will probably notice a decrease in wheel weight. If the weight reduction is meaningful, it should be noticeably easier to accelerate (e.g., taking off from a stop or accelerating into a gust of wind, or going up a hill).

You don't necessarily have to spend lots of money to get a set of light wheels. On the "BikeForums" and "RoadBikeReview" web sites you can find lots of suggestions for light road wheels. (Among the least expensive and most talked about are the Vuelta wheelsets.)