--- title: Oscars Diversity: Board of Governors Nearly All White description: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Board of Governors consists of 51 members, of whom two are not white. canonical: https://time.com/4187311/oscars-diversity-2/ author: Eliza Berman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-21T01:48:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T14:17:43.278Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: The Diversity Problem at the Oscars Starts at the Top og:description: Just look at the 51 faces in this image og:url: https://time.com/4187311/oscars-diversity-2/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05a23aff768c8663/698879ea0a4a22345e9c7fc4/oscars-diversity-lead.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: oscars-diversity-lead og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Diversity Problem at the Oscars Starts at the Top twitter:description: Just look at the 51 faces in this image twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05a23aff768c8663/698879ea0a4a22345e9c7fc4/oscars-diversity-lead.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Diversity Problem at the Oscars Starts at the Top  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 21, 2016 1:48 AM CUT  The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Board of Governors is seen here, with the exception of Daniel R. Fellman and Bob Rogers, for whom photos could not be found. The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Board of Governors is seen here, with the exception of Daniel R. Fellman and Bob Rogers, for whom photos could not be found.Getty Images; Illustration by Kenneth Bachor for TIME  by [Eliza Berman](/author/eliza-berman/)  ## Eliza Berman Berman is a senior editor at TIME. Jan 21, 2016 1:48 AM CUT --- Since the [2016 Oscar nominations](http://time.com/4178963/oscar-nominations-2016/ "undefined") were announced on Jan. 14, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has been [repeatedly](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/movies/lupita-nyongo-and-other-stars-join-oscar-protest.html "undefined") [called out](http://time.com/4184380/spike-lee-oscar-boycott-oscarssowhite/ "undefined") for the lack of diversity among its nominees. All 20 acting nominations went to white actors and actresses, continuing a [pattern](http://time.com/4185071/oscars-diversity/ "undefined") of underrepresentation of minorities that can be traced to the Oscars’ roots. The lack of diversity, though troubling, is not entirely surprising when taking into account that the Academy is 94% white, [according to the Los Angeles _Times_](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/oscars/la-et-unmasking-oscar-academy-project-20120219-story.html "undefined"). But of its 6,000-plus members, the ones that wield the most power are members of the [Board of Governors](http://www.oscars.org/about/board-of-governors "undefined"), who oversee the Academy’s strategic planning and finances and approve all nominations for membership. The Board consists of three members from each of the Academy’s 17 branches—actors (like Tom Hanks), directors (like Kathryn Bigelow), executives (like Amy Pascal), etc.—elected to three-year terms. As this composite image of board members shows, all but two of the 51 members—Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and cinematographer Daryn Okada—are white. A push for diversity in Academy member recruitment, as Boone Isaacs has [hinted](http://time.com/4184688/academy-president-oscars-diversity/ "undefined") is key to addressing the current situation, will likely have a similar impact on board membership as it does on future nominees. After all, the same Academy members who vote to nominate performers for Oscars vote to nominate the members of the Board to represent their branches. Earlier this week, Boone Isaacs [issued a statement](http://time.com/4184688/academy-president-oscars-diversity/ "undefined") declaring that the effects of recent efforts to diversify the Academy’s ranks are “not coming as fast as we would like.” She added that the organization will soon conduct a review of its recruitment practices to ensure “much-needed diversity in our 2016 class and beyond.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4187311/oscars-diversity-2/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4187311/oscars-diversity-2/"},"headline":"The Diversity Problem at the Oscars Starts at the Top","datePublished":"2016-01-21T01:48:07.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T14:17:43.278Z","description":"Just look at the 49 faces in this image","url":"https://time.com/4187311/oscars-diversity-2/","keywords":["awards","Oscars","Academy Awards"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05a23aff768c8663/698879ea0a4a22345e9c7fc4/oscars-diversity-lead.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliza Berman","jobTitle":"Berman is a senior editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/eliza-berman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05a23aff768c8663/698879ea0a4a22345e9c7fc4/oscars-diversity-lead.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"oscars-diversity-lead","caption":"The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences Board of Governors is seen here, with the exception of Daniel R. 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