【Gary Eberhart Archives】

Three years after #OscarsSoWhite put a spotlight on Gary Eberhart Archivesthe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' diversity problem, it appears we're finally seeing some concrete steps to course correct.

Under the #WeAreTheAcademy hashtag, the organization announced it was inviting a record-breaking 928 new members from 59 different countries to join its ranks. The increased focus on welcoming more women and people of color into one of Hollywood's most exclusive clubs is a promising step toward fixing the industry's systemic issues.

SEE ALSO: New report finds abysmal diversity numbers among film directors in 2017

According to graphics supplied by the Academy, 38% of those new members are people of color and 49% are women.

Over the years, many have criticized the Academy as the embodiment of the film industry's old guard: too old, white, male, and conservative to encourage new voices and progressive art. Applying for membership required sponsorship from people already in the Academy, which contributed to gatekeeping and upholding the status quo.

While the exact nature of the Oscars voting process remains full of complicating factors, these new members can have an important ripple effect on who the industry honors with the most prestigious award in Hollywood.

Mashable Top Stories Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news. Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Some of the biggest names among the new members: Timothée Chalamet, Daniel Kaluuya, Danai Gurira, Emilia Clarke, Tiffany Haddish, Daisy Ridley, Dave Chappelle, Ann Dowd, Amy Schumer, Sarah Silverman, Jada Pinkett Smith, Amber Tamblyn, Evan Rachel Wood, Lena Headey, André Holland, Pedro Pascal, Hannibal Buress, Rashida Jones, Mindy Kaling, Taye Diggs, Zoe Kazan, Kumail Nanjiani, Blake Lively, Olivia Munn, Gina Rodriguez, Kendrick Lamar, and J.K. Rowling.

A full list of new members, spanning across 9 different categories, can be found here.

While this influx of new member diversity will help shake up future Oscars nominees and winners, there's still a lot of work to be done before true parity is reached. A year's worth of increased diversity does not counteract decades of inequality in the industry.

Progress is slow-moving. But hopefully this increased focus on diversity in the Academy will continue to elevate filmmaking to new heights.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Here are a few of our favorite acceptance speeches from this year’s Oscars

---

Topics Oscars

• Social Good
• Science
• Life
• Digital Culture
• Tech
• Games
• Entertainment
• Shopping

• How to Squeeze the Most Out of Your iPhone's Battery
• On Transcribing the Lyrics to Pop Songs
• How to Run Android Apps in Google Chrome
• A Quiet, Meditative Place—Joe Gibbons’s Drawings from Rikers
• Best Sony headphones deal: Over $100 off Sony XM5 headphones
• That Time My Aunt Rose Faked Her Own Death
• Jeffrey Eugenides on “Car
• Marcy Dermansky Revisits Van Gogh’s Flowers
• Dyson V8 Plus cordless vacuum: $120 off at Amazon
• Uluç Ülgen’s Intimate Conversations with Total Strangers

• Apple Watch Series 10 unveiled: What's new for Apple's thinnest, lightest watch yet?
• Get up to 50% off dorm essentials at Amazon
• Best iPhone deals pre
• iPhone 16 new 'Camera Control' button makes taking photos more fun
• Las Vegas Aces vs. Indiana Fever 2024 livestream: Watch live WNBA
• Seattle Storm vs. Los Angeles Sparks 2024 livestream: Watch live WNBA
• Pornhub traffic dipped during 2024 Apple Event
• Washington Mystics vs. Chicago Sky 2024 livestream: Watch live WNBA
• Taylor Swift endorses Kamala Harris after presidential debate
• Meta updates WhatsApp and Messenger third

• The cicadas aren't invading the U.S.
• Staff Picks: Rachel Cusk, Christine Lincoln, Mark Sundeen
• In Celebration, Florida, the American Dream Goes South
• La Mode Retrouvée: Looking for Proust’s Muse in Paris
• Your 'wrong person' texts may be linked to Myanmar warlord
• Radical Flâneuserie: Reimagining the Aimlessly Wandering Woman
• Flying Carpets: 4 Paintings by David Schorr
• Being Seymour Glass: Why I Borrowed a Name from Salinger
• Keeping Hope Alive
• Sending Springer Home: What It Took to Save an Orphaned Orca

• Episode 4: The Wave of the Future
• Sitting Up: A Brief History of Chairs
• What Kind of Name Is That? The Perils of Naming Fictional Characters
• The Trojan Horse of Pop: On George Michael
• Best vacuum mop combo deal: Save $140 on the Tineco Floor One S5
• Good Atticus, Bad Atticus: Obama, Sessions, and Finch’s Legacy
• Dying on the Toilet: On Francis Bacon’s “Triptych May–June 1973”
• Delivering Packages to the Afterworld
• Best robot vacuum deal: Save $140 on roborock Q7 Max Robot Vacuum
• Flying Carpets: 4 Paintings by David Schorr