Adele, Lady Gaga and Claire Foy are among the stars who have been invited to join the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, as the organisation raises its female membership.
This year, the Oscars organisation has extended invitations to a total of 842 new members from 59 countries – and half of them are women.
In 10 of its 17 branches, more women than men were invited to join.
Lady Gaga (Jennifer Graylock/PA)
The group’s overall female membership has now risen to 32% from 25% in 2015, and 50% of this year’s inductees are female.
The Academy has also made strides when it comes to diversity, as overall membership of people of colour is now 16%, double what it was four years ago.
It said 29% of the new inductees are people of colour.
Gemma Chan (Ian West/PA)
Other stars invited to join this year include This Is Us actor Sterling K Brown, Crazy Rich Asians star Gemma Chan, Spider-Man star Tom Holland and singer Annie Lennox.
