Merging the male and female acting categories into gender-neutral ones at the Bafta Awards is something that has been discussed and remains under consideration, according to outgoing chief executive Amanda Berry.
This follows a comprehensive review into the way the awards are voted for by 7000 members of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
“That was part of the review discussion,” Berry told the Times, referring to the prospect of gender-free categories. “And it will be discussed again.”
The review followed the 2020 embarrassment of all 20 acting nominations going to white actors. Bafta chairman Krish Majumdar’s review led to more than 120 changes to broaden Bafta’s membership, renew members’ protocols for watching and voting for categories, to ensure a much more inclusive list of films and artists.
Discussion about gender-free categories follows this year’s move at the Brit Awards to merge their male and female solo categories into an Artist of the Year award. Chart-topper Adele went home with the inaugural trophy from the London ceremony, which took place last week.
So far, only a few film and TV awards have gender-free categories including the Gotham Awards, presented by the Gotham Film and Media Institute, and the TCA Awards, presented by the Television Critics Association. In music, the Grammys have been gender-free since 2012, with the MTV VMA Awards following suit in 2017.
This year’s Bafta film nominations see three female filmmakers in a total of six recognised in the best director category, including Oscar nominee Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog. The Bafta Film Awards will be presented in London on March 13.