It is the first major music awards show to make such a commitment.<\/b>
\nThe organizer of the music industry\u2019s Grammy Awards shared a contract addendum Tuesday that lays out steps it will take to increase the diversity of the on-stage and backstage talent involved in its 64th annual ceremony in January, making it the latest major entertainment awards show to pledge change after years of criticism for failing to include and celebrate enough artists of color. The concept of an inclusion rider was first introduced by Stacy Smith, founder of the University of Southern California\u2019s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, in a 2014 op-ed. It gained wider attention when actress Frances McDormand highlighted the term in her 2018 Best Actress Oscar acceptance speech, but only a handful of productions have adopted one as of yet. In May the Grammys decided to end the controversial practice of using anonymous voting committees for its awards, a system that was criticized by some artists as opaque and biased. Other Hollywood awards shows have come under scrutiny in recent years for their lack of diversity, from the #OscarsSoWhite campaign aimed at the Academy Awards to the outcry when all major acting categories were won by white performers at last month\u2019s Emmys. Earlier this month, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which organizes the Golden Globe Awards for film and television, announced it had added a diverse new class of members, months after it was revealed there was not a single Black person in their ranks. \u201c Grammys Release Inclusion Rider for Diversity at Awards Show 2022 \u201d ( The Hollywood Reporter) \u201c Recording Academy Unveils Grammy Awards Inclusion Rider \u201d ( Variety) \u201c Group Behind Golden Globes Announces Diverse New Membership In Wake Of Scandals \u201d ( Forbes) \u201c #EmmysSoWhite: Emmy Winners 2021 Diversity Breakdown \u201d ( The Hollywood Reporter) \u201c Grammy Awards scrap controversial voting committees \u201d (BBC News) \u201c Woman behind \u2018inclusion rider\u2019 explains Frances McDormand\u2019s Oscar speech \u201d ( The Guardian)<\/p>\n