Becoming an Outdoors-Woman: Barriers and Strategies to Minority Women's Participation in Natural Resource-Based Recreation
File(s)
Date
2000-12Author
Schnell, Michael J.
Publisher
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, College of Natural Resources
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Becoming an Outdoors-Woman (BOW) is an educational program that teaches
introductory level hunting, fishing and non-harvest skills to women. It is offered by resource
management agencies in 46 states and seven Canadian provinces. At the 1997 BOW
coordinators conference, a primary concern was how few ethnic minorities participate in
workshops. This concern prompted a survey of BOW coordinators. They reported percentages
as low as zero with a high of ten percent and an average of about six or seven percent minority
participation across the country. Minority instructor numbers were even lower. In October,
1999, the International Becoming an Outdoors-Woman program held a conference -Introducing
Women of Color and Low-Income Women to Natural Resource-Based Recreation: Barriers and
Strategies (designated Barriers 2). Representatives from agencies and conservation groups in
eleven states and a variety of ethnic backgrounds attended. The mission of the conference was to
identify problems and formulate strategies to overcome barriers. This research identified three
major barriers to participation: lack of minority role models at workshops, distance of workshops
from urban centers, and the perception that minorities are not invited. Following the Barriers
conference, we planned pilot workshops to test strategies. In Missouri, minority instructors were
trained to provide minority role models. In Texas, BOW programs were planned for an urban
one-day format. And in Wisconsin, federal natural resource agency personnel from a large urban
center were targeted with specific invitations to participate in a BOW field day to encourage
participation at future BOW workshops. BOW needs to continue long-term activities for
education and recruitment, based on what this research has provided.