Oscars organization’s new members further expand diversity

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is pushing ahead with its diversity goals.

The organization behind the Academy Awards announced Tuesday that it had extended invitations to 819 artists and executives as part of its 2020 membership class.

The invitees are 45% women, 36% underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 49% international from 68 countries, the organization said.

“The Academy is delighted to welcome these distinguished fellow travelers in the motion picture arts and sciences. We have always embraced extraordinary talent that reflects the rich variety of our global film community, and never more so than now,” academy President David Rubin said in a statement.

This year’s invitees include actors Cynthia Erivo, Constance Wu, John David Washington and Eva Longoria.

In the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite movement, the academy set inclusion goals as part of its A2020 initiative to double the number of women and underrepresented ethnic/racial communities by the year 2020.

Those goals have been surpassed, according to a news release about the new invitees.

The academy recently announced the next phase of its equity and inclusion initiative, dubbed Academy Aperture 2025.

That initiative seeks to “further the organization’s ongoing efforts to advance inclusion in the entertainment industry and increase representation within its membership and the greater film community.”

Its initial phase outlined specific goals for the Oscars and academy governance, membership and workplace culture.

“We take great pride in the strides we have made in exceeding our initial inclusion goals set back in 2016, but acknowledge the road ahead is a long one,” academy CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement. “We are committed to staying the course.”