With the announcement of any awards show nominee list, people immediately begin to calculate the diversity of those garnering nods. After all, it's important to see if those being honored reflect the industry as a whole and aren't just the same top white, male performers again and again. So, how did the Grammys nominations stack up in the diversity category? Well, when you look at how many women were nominated for Grammys, you might be pleasantly surprised. After looking at the top 27 categories (the five main general ones, and the ones for country, rap, rock, R&B, and pop) here's how the numbers stack up.
Out of 27 categories, 53 nominations went to women. That sounds great on the surface, right? 53 noms went to women? But, when you consider that there were a total of 135 possible slots, 53 doesn't even hit half. But, it is markedly better than last year's Grammys in which only 41 of the possible 135 nominations went to women. So, that's a rise from 30 percent to 39 percent. It's awesome to see that number rising, even if it's doing so slowly.
But, what does that number say about the industry? Well, despite snubs for artists like Nicki Minaj, it means maybe the Grammys are finally starting to recognize diversity in music. It's worth noting that in the top five general categories, last year only 4 of 25 nominations went to people of color (Beyonce, Pharrell twice, and DJ Snake & Lil Jon), while 11 of 25 went to people of color this year. Granted, 10 of those 11 were men, but we're getting there. It's definitely not perfect yet, but it's exciting to see that we're moving forward.
Hopefully by next year we can even hit half and half for female and male nominees. After all, women represent half the world's population and a huge part of the music industry as well. It's about time they start getting recognized for it.
