Golden Globes Expands Diversity of 2024 Voting Body

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) has more than doubled the number of international voters in its voting body for the 2024 Golden Globe Awards. There are now 215 international voters – 87 returning voters from last year plus 128 who were just admitted. Added to the current 95 members (which the HFPA tallies separately from international voters), there are now 310 total voters, fulfilling the organization’s pledge to increase the size and diversity of the voting body.

The new breakdown is 42% white, 25% Latinx, 14% Asian, 10% Black and 9% Middle Eastern. At least 17% of the voting body self-identifies as LGBTQ+.

“We have exceeded our goal of reaching 300 voters for the upcoming 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards thanks to an extensive global recruitment effort,” Helen Hoehne, president of the HFPA, said in a statement. “We are excited at the unprecedented achievement in building a truly global voting body where 58% self-identify as ethnically diverse.”

“The efforts put forth to identify, engage, and actively recruit diverse voters is strong evidence of the commitment by the Golden Globes to follow through on its promises to expand and reshape itself,” said Neil Phillips, HFPA chief diversity officer. “It shows that with the right leadership, effective community partnerships and an unwavering focus, we can achieve remarkable and transformational diversity growth.”

For the 80th Annual Golden Globe Awards in January, which drew such stars as Selena Gomez and Austin Butler, the voting body consisted of 200 voters. Of that total, 52% self-identified as ethnically diverse.

For the upcoming 81st Awards, the increase in diversity is also accompanied by an increase in the number of new countries represented. The voting body now represents a total of 76 countries, including international voters from newly added countries such as Cameroon, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Serbia and Tanzania.

The criteria for international voters include residing outside of the U.S. and possessing verified entertainment journalistic clippings for international media outlets including print, broadcast, radio, photography and online. These applications were reviewed and qualified by the credentials committee, which is composed of a majority of outside independent journalism and entertainment industry professionals.

International voters will be subject to a Golden Globe Awards code of conduct. Biographies, photos and listings of outlets will be updated soon on the Golden Globes website.

A spokesman notes that there is a separate application period for membership (as distinct from international voters) but that is not until this summer.

The 81st Annual Golden Globe Awards will take place on Sunday, Jan. 7, 2024. This will put the show back on Sunday night, where it aired each year from 2009 through 2021. The show, under a cloud because of diversity issues and ethical concerns, wasn’t broadcast in 2022. NBC broadcast it on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, with comedian Jerrod Carmichael hosting. The broadcaster for the 2024 show hasn’t been announced.

At the Globes in January, The Fabelmans won best motion picture, drama, while The Banshees of Inisherin won best motion picture, musical or comedy. Neither of those films went on to win the Academy Award for best picture, which went to Everything Everywhere All at Once.