Oscars diversity improved after ‘#OscarsSoWhite’

The share of women and members of minority ethnic or racial groups nominated for Oscars rose from 8% between 2008 and 2015 – the year of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy – to 17% between 2015 and 2023, according to research from the University of Southern California.

Called the “Inclusion Initiative,” a study released this Wednesday by the Annenberg School of Journalism (USC) found that the percentage of female finalists in one of the 19 Oscar categories rose from 21% to 27% from one stage to the next.

In 2015, the #OscarsSoWhite hashtag became viral on the networks, with which African-American activist April Reign questioned Hollywood Academy due to its lack parity, diversity and inclusion, Counting after only white men were nominated for the four main categories of that edition.

“Inclusion Initiative” it’s part of a larger investigation in which USC surveyed 13,253 professionals who, since 1929, have opted for the golden statuette based on their gender, race or ethnicity.

During these 95 years, according to the study, there were only 17% of women candidates for Oscarwhile ethnic groups such as Latin Americans or African Americans, who represent approximately 19% and 13% of the US population, respectively, still have a backward role.

Research shows that Hispanic Oscar winners make up 2% of all Oscar winners since 1929, and that the total number of nominees from this group represents only 1.7% of the historical record of finalists.

Mexican filmmakers Alejandro González IñárrituAlfonso Cuarón and Guillermo del Toro are responsible for 17% of all Hispanic Oscar wins.

Likewise, 19 indigenous people (0.14% of the total number) managed to be nominated in these 95 years, of which only 3 were awarded.

As for African Americans, they repeat the same share of winners as Latinos since 1929, 2%, and the historical percentage of nominees is only 1.9%.

Meanwhile, Asian film professionals account for 2% of all nominees and 1.7% of winners thanks to this year’s increase from “All at once.”

The obtained results show that the Hollywood Academy is still very far from parity and no statistics it is close to a representation comparable to the US demographics.