The Grammy Awards have long faced criticism for a lack of diversity, with artists of color, women, and genres like rap and contemporary R&B often overlooked in top categories. However, change is underway as the Recording Academy’s voting body evolves, with 66% of its members having joined in the past five years.
At last year’s Grammys, women dominated major categories, a reflection of the Academy’s efforts to address gender imbalance. In 2019, the Recording Academy committed to adding 2,500 women to its voting body by 2025. As of Thursday, the Academy announced it had surpassed this goal ahead of schedule, with more than 3,000 female voting members now onboard.
Harvey Mason Jr., president and CEO of the Recording Academy, acknowledged the previous lack of representation, stating, “It tells me that we were severely underrepresented in that area.”
Reforms began in response to the #MeToo movement, following controversial comments by former CEO Neil Portnow. Since 2019, the Academy has added 8,700 new members, expanding its voting body to over 16,000 members, with a 63% increase in members identifying as people of color.
Mason emphasized the Academy’s intentional approach to diversity, stating, “We’re very specific and intentional in who we asked to be a part of our academy by listening and learning from different genres and groups that felt overlooked.”
Although progress has been made, with significant growth in AAPI, Black, and Latino voters, the current voting membership still skews toward men, with 66% being male, 49% white, and 66% over the age of 40. Mason is committed to further growth, aiming to make the Academy as representative of the music community as possible.
