A near-worthless little woman (5)
I believe the answer is:
penny
'woman' is the definition.
I don't understand the remainder of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for penny that I've seen before include "p; small coin" , "Coin - girl's name" , "Coin spent by the desperate?" , "Smallest UK coin" , "The price of a thought" .)