Motion Picture Academy Commits to Adding Women, Minority Members

After weeks of controversy over the lack of minority representation in this year's Academy Award nominations, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has announced its intention to double the number of woman and diverse members of the Academy by 2020.

In addition, the Academy will give each member 10 years of voting, which will be renewed if the new member has remained active in the motion picture industry.

The Academy announced that its board of governors had voted unanimously to approve the changes.

"The Academy is going to lead and not wait for the industry to catch up," Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs said in a statement. "These new measures regarding governance and voting will have an immediate impact and begin the process of significantly changing our membership composition."

AMPAS' membership votes each year on the Academy Award nominees and winners.