Number of women nominated for 2024 Oscars returns to record high - but there's still a way to go

As the Academy Awards 2024 approach this weekend on March 10th, many are interested to see how much the Oscars have progressed after previous criticism.

In 2015 the phrase #Oscarssowhite went viral as it was noted that of the 20 actors nominated that year, none of them were people of colour. As time progressed it was hoped that the awards may have become more inclusive of people of colour and of women, but as just 32% of women are nominated for awards in the 2024 Academy Awards - matching the stats of the 2021 awards, perhaps there is less progress than we had hoped.

An investigative report titled, Inclusion at the Oscars: What’s changed in 2024? from USC Annenberg revealed that of all the nominees for this year's Academy Awards, only 32% of them are women.

The report explained, "In 2024, 32% of nominees in the 19 categories examined were women, which is the same as the previous high point of 32% reached in 2021."

It was uncovered that only 20% of the 2024 nominees were from underrepresented racial/ethnic groups which was down from the 2021 awards when stats showed 24% were from this group and in 2019, 21% of the nominees were people of colour.

Meanwhile, women of colour received just 5.7% of all nominations in 2024, which was almost half the number from 2021 which saw 11% of the nominees being women of colour.

The report further explained, "There has been little change in the overall percentage of nominees across all 96 years. Women filled 17% of all nominations, while 6% of nominees were from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group. Even with historical nominations such as the one for Lily Gladstone this year, fewer than 2% of all nominees were women of colour."

"The study reveals how often the Academy Awards recognize the talent and work of women and people of colour," said Stacy L. Smith, Founder of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative. 

"For those who want to say that the Awards are improving, it is critical to note that in 2024, the percentage of women and people of colour nominated for awards in feature categories still falls far below proportional representation. There is much more work to do to see the creative talents of women and people of colour - and particularly women of colour - recognized by this industry body," she said.

Some of the women who have been nominated for an Academy Award this year and will attend the ceremony this weekend include, Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig for Barbie, Danielle Brooks for The Color Purple, Da'Vine Joy Randolph for The Holdovers, Lily Gladstone for Killers of the Flower Moon, Carey Mulligan for Maestro, Emma Stone for Poor Things, and Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall.