Women Were Largely Shut Out of the Oscars Too

The Academy Awards drew sharp criticism (opens in new tab) on Thursday for its overwhelmingly white list of Oscar nominees, but people of color weren't the only ones largely shut out—women also came up short.

Just 24% of Academy nominations were women, according to The Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab). While that's an improvement from the last two years—when the number was 21%—it underscores the lack of female voices in a number of categories, such as Best Director and Best Cinematography, for which a woman has never been nominated. The Hollywood Reporter estimates that of the 215 people nominated this year, 51 are women.

A handful of women earned accolades in the writing category (opens in new tab), with Emma Donoghue and Phyllis Nagy capturing nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay for Room and Carol, respectively. Meg LeFauve got a nomination in the Best Original Screenplay category for Inside Out. Andrea Berloff also got a nod in that category for Straight Outta Compton.

Despite the abysmal percentage of women nominated, movies with strong female leads did catch the Academy's attention. Room and Brooklyn—two movies with leading women—were nominated for Best Picture. Mad Max: Fury Road, which features several women kicking ass, also earned a Best Picture nod. 

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