The Motion Picture Academy is getting a dose of diversity.
The Academy invited 322 newcomers late last month, the biggest incoming class yet, and a group that is significantly more diverse — at least in terms of race — than the Academy at large, according to research by The Hollywood Reporter. Among some of the new invitees were David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Kevin Hart and Justin Lin.
One-third of the new members in the actor and director categories were non-white, and 25% were non-white overall. That’s significantly more diverse than the 93% white membership overall in a 2013 measure.
The numbers aren’t particularly inspiring when it comes to gender, however; only 22% are women, less than the Academy’s 26% female membership in 2013.
The goal of increased diversity has been a priority of Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, especially considering last year’s Oscar nominees were the whitest they’ve been since 1998.
“It is really gratifying to see this change taking place, especially to represent the extraordinary breadth of our industry,” she told Deadline.
She also highlighted the importance of including international talent, because it’s “a global industry now and it is only going to grow.” International artists, like director Bong Joon-ho and writer Damian Szifron, were also invited to the Academy.
The Hollywood Reporter tracked down all the newest members and put together a breakdown of the numbers. Overall, 25% of the new members are nonwhite, while 22% are women. A few highlights:
Actors: 32% of new members are nonwhite, though only 28% were women.
Directors: 38.5% of new members were nonwhite. Only 11.5% were women.
Writers: 48% were nonwhite. Only 14% were women.
Executives 8% were nonwhite, while 33% were women.
Age range: Only 1% of new voters were in their 20s. About 40% were in their 40s, the majority age group overall.