More Women Will Be On Oscars Committee This Year

It seems the committee running next year’s Academy Awards has decided to cop on and (rightly so), invite more females into the fold.?Twenty-seven women are among this year’s 67 candidates to head the Oscars organisation, which, particularly in the last year, has faced criticism for being dominated by ?older, white men. ?

Ava DuVernay, the director of the film Selma (who was controversially omitted from the Best Directors category this year) wants to be a branch representative on the Academy board in the run up to the 2016 Oscars ceremony, and we’d delighted to see a woman take the helm.

The Oscars came under fire last year, as a result of the main nomination categories (Best Director, etc.) omitting females and being dominated by the men. Women are fighting for equality even when it comes to the red carpet, let alone the awards themselves so it’s s struggle on every front at the moment. The #AskHerMore campaign, highlighting the need to ask actresses about more than just their fashion sense went viral, as many pointed out that it’s usually the male actor who gets asked about his work. The campaign was used to highlight the fact that women are worth more than just ?who? they are wearing.

The Oscars organisation?has faced criticism for long being dominated by ?older, white men. ?

Things are at least starting to change as this year it seems, as an unprecedented number of women and minorities are in the running this year for seats on the board. Of 67 candidates, 27 are women (spread across 13 of the Academy’s 17 branches) and seven are minorities.

The current board has less than 15 women on it, and includes: Kathleen Kennedy, Kate Amend, Annette Bening, Kathryn Bigelow, Kathryn Blondell, Lora Kennedy, Lynzee Klingman, Judianna Makovsky, Amy Pascal, Jan Pascale, Robin Swicord and Nancy Utley. This is fairly shocking to us. Why are there so few women on the main committee of such a major organisation in Hollywood?

Under current Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and CEO Dawn Hudson, the Academy say they have ‘made a concerted effort in recent years to develop a more diverse membership for the group?, which includes more women. This year, actresses Elizabeth Banks and Emma Stone were among the females asked to join the Oscar-granting organisation.

?It’s very gratifying to see the big increase in gender and people of colour, in age and national origin. It’s a testament to the extraordinary breadth of talent in our industry,” said Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs. ?This organisation is committed to increasing the diversity of voices, opinions and experiences,? she added.

This is good because we need to see women fairly represented in Hollywood. There are some incredible women out there making a major impact on the entertainment industry, so it’s only right that they get a place on a committee that currently has a hell of a lot of scope in that business.

Hollywood Reporter