THE STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE U.S MEDIA 2015

Non-acting Oscar nominees (and winners) were mainly male, according
to a Women’s Media Center study
The Women’s Media Center’s annual Oscar nomination count of the 2012, 2013, 2014
and 2015 nominees—conducted by Rachel Larris, WMC’s communications manager—
showed men accounting for 81 percent of all nominations in nonacting categories.
Women represented only 19 percent of all nominees.
What’s more, in seven Oscar categories in 2015, no women were nominated for directing,
original screenplay writing, adapted screenplay writing, cinematography, visual
effects, original music scoring and sound mixing.
®
OSCAR NOMINATIONS
135
THE GENDER GAP
®
The 2015 Academy Awards nominated
more men than women in non-acting
categories by a margin of 5 to 1
140
149 35
Women are only 19% of all non-acting nominees
The 4-year averaged
count of women
nominees is 19%
156
men
women
149
“We are concerned that
for the fourth year in a
row, fewer than one in
five of all non-acting
nominees are women,”
WMC President
Julie Burton said of the
2015 nominees. “The
stark disparity in the
Oscar nominations this
year—particularly in the
categories of directing
and writing—demonstrates
that male voices
and perspectives are
largely responsible for
what we see on screen.”
Burton continued: “The
Los Angeles Times conducted
a study that
showed that 94 percent
of Academy voters are
white and 77 percent
are male. We wonder
if these numbers have
something to do with
the fact that talented
directors like Ava DuVernay
(Selma) and Angelina
Jolie (Unbroken) did
not make the final cut.”
31
35 33 35
2012
19%
2013
25%
2014
17%
2015
19%
66
WOMEN’S MEDIA CENTER
The Status of Women in the U.S. Media 2015 TOC womensmediacenter.com