To explore the extent of male dominance at the Academy Awards®, Stephen Follows analysed data on 9,530 nominations received by individuals for gender-neutral categories (excluding ‘Best Picture’). The findings reveal that men dominate nearly every category except for Costume awards. Across all gender-neutral categories studied, 87.9% of nominations went to men, as did 88.0% of statues.
“This suggests that the Academy does not disproportionately favour men over women in its decision-making. Rather, the imbalance reflects the wider industry, where men receive the majority of opportunities and nominations. In other words, the issue may stem from who gets hired and recognised within the industry rather than a bias in Oscar voting itself.”