The Canadian Screen Awards Says It's Moving To Gender-Neutral Acting Categories From 2023
Categories dedicated to male and female performers will be dropped.
The Canadian Screen Awards.
The Canadian Screen Awards has announced that it will drop categories dedicated to male and female performers as of 2023, in exchange for what it's calling "gender-neutral performance categories."
In a statement shared on Thursday, August 25, Canada's top film and television awards confirmed the transition for lead and supporting performers across both film and television awards.
Set to go into effect as of 2023, the change means the number of nominations per category will increase from five to eight.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television says the decision to transition to gender-neutral performance categories "marks a groundbreaking change in the film and television awards industry."
The first among its kind to alter gender-specific awards categories, the Canadian Academy says the change will allow the awards to "better represent the country’s diverse community of talent."
Starting in 2023, instead of there being four film categories that honour best lead actor, best lead actress, best supporting actor and best supporting actress, there will simply be two film categories — best performance in a leading role and best performance in a supporting role.
Similarly, TV performance awards will also be renamed. For example, Best Lead Actor/Actress (Comedy) will become Best Lead Performer (Comedy).
Louis Calabro, Interim CEO, Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, said that there had been "careful consideration and in-depth discussions" before making the change.
“The Canadian Academy believes this is a progressive, necessary step towards an equitable screen-based industry by ensuring all Canadian performers are eligible to be honoured by their peers, and are thrilled to be among the first Academy of its kind in the world to implement this format,” a statement read.
Similar changes have already been implemented by other awards shows worldwide, including the Junos, the Grammys and the MTV Movie and TV awards, per CTV News.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.