HFPA Adds 103 New Voters For Golden Globe Awards, Doubling Voting Body and Increasing Diversity Post-Scandal

Selome Hailu
·2 min read

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has added 103 new voters to the group that oversees the Golden Globe Awards. These new additions mark a double in size for the voting body, with an increased level of diversity following the scandals that have plagued the organization over the past few years.

The HFPA announced a plan to add to the voting body in July, though the new voters are not joining as HFPA members. In fact, this is the first time that the HFPA has ever welcomed non-members to vote on the Golden Globes. As put by HFPA president Helen Hoehne, the move falls into the organization’s plan to “transform [them]selves” and introduce a wider range of perspectives in time for the 2023 award ceremony. (It remains unclear where that ceremony will air, as NBC dropped the Golden Globes in May 2021 as a result of the HFPA’s diversity issues and controversial financial practices.)

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In a statement, the HFPA provided demographic statistics of the new voters: 22.3% are Latinx, 13.6% are Black, 11.7% are Asian, 10.7% are Middle Eastern and 41.7% are white, with 58.3% self-identifying as “ethnically diverse.” Now, the voting body overall is made up of 200 members that are 52% female and 51.5% “racially and ethnically diverse” with 19.5% Latinx, 12% Asian, 10% Black and 10% Middle Eastern members. The statement says that the voting body also includes individuals who self-identify as LGBTQIA+, though specific numbers regarding sexual orientation were not provided.

Additionally, the voting body now represents a wider geographic range, with 43.5% of voters being from Europe, 18.5% from Latin America, 17% from Asia, 9% from the Middle East and 7% from Africa.

“After bringing in our largest member class last year with 21 diverse members, it was clear we had to find new opportunities to bring in additional voters to ensure the continued diversification and growth in the voting body,” said Hoehne. “The addition of new non-member voters drawn from international markets gives us the opportunity to more rapidly increase the number of voters, while preserving our international identity and maintaining the commitment to bring in qualified and experienced entertainment journalists.”

“Our work is not complete as we will continue to identify and recruit additional members and non-member voters to expand, diversify and strengthen the Golden Globe Awards while maintaining its unique international flavor,” said Neil Phillips, who, since November 2021, has served as the HFPA’s first-ever chief diversity officer. “We remain committed to reshaping and growing the voting body while preserving the ability to make quality award decisions with integrity.”

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