Date: 30th June 2016

Oscars push for more gender and ethnical diversity.


The organisers of the Oscars have invited a record number of new members to vote in next year's Academy Awards, in response to criticism of a lack of diversity at this year's ceremony.

Nearly 700 people were invited, with a focus on women and ethnic minorities.

Should all of those agree to join, the demographic of the membership would only slightly change from being mostly white, male and over 60.

Male membership would slip from 75% to 73% - white membership from 92% to 89%.

There are currently more than 6000 members of the academy.
Almost half the people who have been asked to join are women and almost as many people of colour.

For the second year in a row, all the nominees at February's 88th Academy Awards were white, sparking an outcry.

The protests led to an unprecedented debate about racial equality in the film industry - characterised on social media by the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite - and caused several Hollywood stars to boycott the awards ceremony.

Source: Press Release