Nine-tenths white, three-quarters male: That’s the current Academy membership, according to a new study by the LA Times.
Back in 2012, the Times found that the Academy was 94% white and 77% male, so the 2016 figures of 91% white and 76% are technically an improvement, if a statistically negligible one.
In case you need a reminder, whites make up 77% and males 49% of the U.S. population.
But Academy demographics are a whole different world, where African-Americans comprise just 3% of the group and Asians and Latinos 2% each.
The Times did not receive cooperation from the Academy on its study of the 6,000-odd members who vote on the Oscars, but Cheryl Boone Isaccs’ group did confirm that the paper’s numbers align with the organization’s own data.
Unsurprisingly, the branches that wield the most power in the industry are the least diverse. For example, the executive branch, whose members decide which projects to finance and which should receive awards campaigns, is 98% white. Likewise, the public relations branch, which designs and coordinates those campaigns, is 95% white.
[via LA Times]
