Public meetings that are attended by a broadly representative
cross-section of the potentially affected public are more likely
than those that aren't to provide decision makers with an understanding
of the range of citizen concerns regarding a potential decision.
Previous research suggests that working and lower middle
class women are particularly unlikely to attend environmentally
related public meetings. This decreases the likelihood that decision
makers will fully understand citizen concerns as a result of
these meetings. This article reports on the results of a small qualitative
study aimed at understanding why these women are less
likely to attend. The interviewed women were socially oriented in
their skills, activities, and sense of self-confidence. This, along
with the way that these women conceptualized "environment,"
suggests that they are unlikely to see themselves as valuable participants
in a public meeting on an environmental issue. Other obstacles
to their participation, including a lack of time and self-con
fidence, pertained more to women in one life stage than another.
Environmental managers may attract more working and
lower middle class women by making our suggested choices regarding
meeting technique, attributes, and advertising.