From Awkwafina to Zendaya, how Oscars has encouraged female minority membership

Young female actors like Awkwafina, Zendaya and Constance Wu are amongst the actors who were invited to join The Academy on Tuesday, June 30, 2020. The Oscars-awarding club has over 9,000 members and has been accelerating for diversity and more extensive representation over the past few years. Recently, they opened their prestigious doors to a diverse gathering of new members. 

Awkwafina, the comedian and rapper, has become one of Hollywood's most desired actors. She also won a Golden Globe for Chinese-American family drama The Farewell, but she was ignored at the Oscars. However now, Awkwafina is invited to join The Academy on Tuesday. Former Disney child actor Zendaya and Constance Wu are also invited. While Zendaya is known for Spider-Man: Far from Home, Constance Wu earned praises for her performances in Hustlers and Crazy Rich Asians.

Cynthia Erivo was the sole non-white acting nominee at February's Oscars, for Harriet. She is also one of the invitees on Tuesday's list. Along with her Eva Longoria, Zazie Beetz from Joker and upcoming Bond girl Ana de Armas are some names on the list. 

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has boosted its efforts to increase female and ethnic minority membership. This year, the majority of actors invited to join the event were women. Moreover, half of the invitees were from "underrepresented ethnic/racial communities," said an Academy statement. David Rubin, the Academy President also added that the Oscars-awarding club has always embraced extraordinary talent that reflects the rich variety of the global film community.

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Bollywood Invitees  

The organisers of the Oscars club have also offered membership to Bollywood. Celebrities like Hrithik Roshan and Alia Bhatt and documentary filmmakers Shirley Abraham, Amit Madheshiya and others are some of the names. The invitees for the year 2020 include documentary director Nishtha Jain (Gulabi Gang, Lakshmi and Me), costume designer Neeta Lulla (Jodhaa Akbar, Devdas), writer Sabrina Dhawan (Kaminey, Monsoon Wedding), casting directors Nandini Shrikent (Gully Boy, Life of Pi) and Tess Joseph (Lion, The Namesake), visual effects artists Vishal Anand (War, Bharat) and Sandeep Kamal (Panipat, Jal), and V Senthil Kumar, the co-founder of the digital streaming company Qube Cinema Technologies. If the artists accept the invitation, they will hold the right to vote at the 93rd Academy Awards aka Oscars, scheduled to be held on April 25, 2021.  

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