The Oscars’ diversity rules explained: These are the requirements for a film to be nominated
The 2025 Academy Awards ceremony is set to take place on March 2 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, with the event starting at 4 p.m. local time.
Expectations are high in Los Angeles ahead of the Oscars 2025 this March 2 at 4 pm local time, in an unusually open edition with no clear favorite, unlike in previous years.
Follow all the information on the 2025 Oscars
- Oscars 2025, live: ceremony, speeches, and all the winners of the Academy Awards, live.
- List of winners for the 2025 Academy Awards: all the awardees at the Oscars in Los Angeles.
- 2025 Oscar for Best Picture
- 2025 Oscar for Best Director
- 2025 Oscar for Best Actress
- 2025 Oscar for Best Actor
- 2025 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress
- 2025 Oscar for Best Supporting Actor
- Oscars 2025: What is the order of awards and how many categories are there at the Academy Awards?
- What time are the 2025 Oscars? Schedule, TV, how to watch, and where to follow the Oscar ceremony online.
As we’ve seen in the past, having multiple nominations doesn’t always guarantee an Oscar win. That was the case for The Turning Point (1977) and The Color Purple (1986), both of which received 11 nominations without winning a single award. The competition was tough, and the 97th Academy Awards will be no different.
2025 Awards meet diversity requirements
Following the fallout and negative press from the 2015 ceremony when the Oscars announced a set of 20 all-white acting nominees, questions were asked about the Academy having a diversity problem.
As a result, the diversity requirements have been implemented in the 2025 nomination process, as was done in previous editions. These guidelines not only apply to actors but also impact the production companies that hire them and the overall film crew.
These measures serve as an initiative to encourage studios to adopt more equitable hiring practices and expand the range of stories being told on the big screen.
To meet the on-screen representation standard, at least one lead actor or a significant supporting actor must belong to an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, including Asian, Hispanic, Black, Indigenous, Native American, Middle Eastern, North African, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander.
There are alternatives: Thirty percent of all actors in secondary or more minor roles could come from two of the following categories: women, L.G.B.T.Q., an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, or those with cognitive or physical disabilities. Or the main story line must focus on an underrepresented group.
In order to qualify for a shortlist place in the categories, a film must meet two of four standards in areas of onscreen representation, offscreen creative leadership, apprenticeship opportunities for members of underrepresented groups and diversity in the ranks of the marketing and distribution departments.