Dr. Stacy L. Smith and the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, supported by the Adobe Foundation, have launched a website called The Inclusion List. The research effort tracks and celebrates progress made in the entertainment industry as well as the effects of the #OscarsSoWhite movement that April Reign started eight years ago.
The Inclusion list, which you can visit here, focuses on the Academy Awards and showcases the changes that have occurred throughout the history of the ceremonies from 1929 until the present day. The site charts nominations for women and people of color across 19 categories. Visitors will also have the opportunity to vote and guess who they think will win the Oscar at this year’s gala on March 12.
“When April Reign unleashed #OscarsSoWhite, she tapped into the collective desire for change and the outrage that people felt at seeing actors of color excluded once again from this career-defining award,” said Dr. Smith. “This comprehensive look at the Oscars demonstrates that exclusion was normative for many years and still is in many categories. But it also shows that there is power in collective action, and that energy has ensured that the years since #OscarsSoWhite do not look like the years that came before.”
Information on each category is presented in terms of the overall percentage of nominees and winners who were women and people of color, including an intersectional look at women of color.
For example, 17% of all Academy Award nominees from 1929 to 2023 were women, while only 6% were people of color and less than 2% of nominees were women of color. The percentages of winners were similar to the percentages of nominees. Only 16% of all Academy Awards winners were women, 6% were people of color, and a mere 2% were women of color.
When the research team narrowed its focus to the eight years before and after the #OscarsSoWhite movement, results were found that only 8% of nominees were from an underrepresented racial/ethnic group between 2008 and 2015. Between 2016 and 2023, however, that figure jumped to 17%. Even for women nominees, the percentage increased from 21% to 27% in the same time frame.
Site users can examine exactly where change is still needed by reading through data points on each category. Each category includes details on the first woman, woman of color, and person of color nominated, as well as the first to win the award. The site also spotlights important facts about communities of color at the Oscars.
