The Call for Diversity

The issue of diversity comes back like a boomerang and while some consider it to be a made up problem, some find it to be imperative in social discussions. Moreover, many institutions have changed, or considers changing, their rules and standards to be more inclusive. But are these decisions driven by true intentions to be better or just a need to seem so? Is it empathy or keeping up appearances? Well, it is not that important as long as it is done properly and the case of the BRIT Awards seems to be an example of a job done right.

The BRIT Awards are annual popular music awards going back to 1970s, and since then there were many changes regarding the awards’ categories so we cannot say that sticking to the original is always the best and the most beneficial. This year the organisers were criticised for not nominating any women artist for British Artist of the Year prize – previously there were two separate categories but they were merged into one in 2021. When Harry Styles won, he dedicated his success to women who have been overlooked by the judges. The organisers have taken it into consideration and decided that next year the category will expand from five to ten nominees. What’s more, R&B artists will get their own category, while previously they had only a mixed one – British Pop/R&B Act.

So how is this a good, genuine change? Well, maybe we cannot be sure whether it’s truly genuine, but we cannot deny that it is good. Some artists have spoken up about the change, for example an R&B singer Mahalia, who “literally screamed” when she heard the news. No wonder, pop singers like Harry Styles or Dua Lipa easily dominated the previous category and R&B artists had little chance of success. In this situation, there weren’t many options to choose from and the organisers could only ignore criticism or separate the genres. But the problem of the main prize was more complicated. The committee could try to tackle it differently – if they were accused of lack of diversity, they could set a rule that half of the nominees had to be women. But there were five slots, so who would have three of them? Men or women? Additionally, setting such a rule always starts discussion whether it is even fair. Shouldn’t they nominate people who actually deserve it and not because they are of specific gender? There was also a possibility of dividing the prize, but they have already merged it two years ago – that would be a clear admittance of mistake.

Still, there may be unsatisfied voices – and we cannot say they would be unreasonable. What will stop the jury from nominating all men again? Yes, there are bigger chances for women now, but if they were overlooked then, why ten slots would change that? The problem may be located within the jury – is it diverse or does it consist of only men? It also seems like not having separate categories caused the whole problem and all of that could be easily prevented.

Nevertheless, it is a good change. Even if it fails next year, the effort was there and it’s a base for future unavoidable changes, as they will surely come. People should watch the next Awards and see whether the decision worked and if not, urge the jury for further changes.