www.vulture.com: In one of its first major initiatives since being created in May, the Recording Academy’s Task Force on Diversity & Inclusion has announced that it has invited 900 women and people of color to become voting members for next year’s Grammys. The move comes after Recording Academy president Neil Portnow blamed women for their own lack of inclusion at this year’s Grammys, saying they needed to “step up.”
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Award shows have always seemed so distant and streamlined to me that I never stopped to think about the people behind the table. This move by the Grammy’s Recording Academy to include 900 women and people of color in the voting process is an excellent initiative to make the awards fairer. It is brilliant publicity for the group and the awards show, but it also shows how these committees are continuing their efforts to be more inclusive. The article touches on how the Academy (Oscars) altered their practice after the #OscarsSoWhite event filled the feed of social media. A simple hashtag could start a movement, and at some point, the people in power cannot ignore it. Because entertainment flourishes off of audience enthusiasm, the executives in these committees knew they had to focus on what the viewer (which is essentially the “customer”) longs to see. And in this case, it is simply a group of individuals as diverse as our nation to be honored on the stages of the Grammy Awards.
Outrage over nominations has not been a big issue until a couple years ago and now there is more push than ever to have diversity and inclusion in the entertainment industry. I think that this is long overdue as this industry has been hard for women and POC's to forge a path that allows them to overstep stereotypes and take on roles that are challenging and make them grow (both on screen and off). I think this is a great thing for the Grammy's to do and I fully support them in their goal to be more inclusive. I also think that because of the #Oscarssowhite that a lot of change has come about. Social media has allowed for direct feedback to people and it has a great impact on the way that the world is run when it did not have that effect a couple years ago. Our world is changing significantly and it is nice to see that the entertainment industry is keeping up.
I’m really glad that committees in power are listening. It may not be the ones we want or need the most, but it truly is progress. As Sidney said, it’s an audience based industry; they need to listen to us to keep the industry thriving (as does really anything in the consumer based economy, entertainment is just more subject to the whims of the populus and popular media). I think it’s great that not only are women and people of color being added in, but younger people too. It is not enough to instigate change if that change is not of the generation instigating it. The younger members will hopefully be able to keep this progress going. On somewhat of a side note, one thing that really go me though was just how many voting members there are. I didn’t realize there was 13,000 people who had input. It makes sense because a larger group can make a more representative decision on the whole, especially now that that group itself is becoming more representative.
This is a huge move for the Grammy Awards, especially given its recent negative track record when it comes to things like diversity, inclusion, and just general empathy. The comments made after the last Grammy Awards by the Academy president were unacceptable. While I would have wished for his resignation immediately, it’s still nice to see that the academy is taking steps to remedy their current position. Adding to and restructuring their voting pool and committees is a great first step! This means there is a much more equal voice when it comes to voting. I would argue their next step would be to expand the qualifiers to be nominated so that smaller or more diverse films can be considered. Overall, this is a really good step for the Grammy’s to take. I hope this can encourage other award shows to take similar steps. Maybe then we have a hope of achieving equality at the highest levels of artistic achievement awards.
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