CanadaB次元官网网址檚 top film and television awards are going gender-neutral.

Organizers say next yearB次元官网网址檚 Canadian Screen Awards will drop categories dedicated to male and female performers in favour of categories that arenB次元官网网址檛 divided by gender.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television says this will B次元官网网址渂etter represent the countryB次元官网网址檚 diverse community of talent.B次元官网网址�

Instead of four film categories that each honour best lead actor or actress and best supporting actor or actress, there will be two categories recognizing best B次元官网网址減erformance in a leading roleB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址減erformance in a supporting role.B次元官网网址�

Several genre-based TV categories are similarly renamed. For instance, the contests for best lead comedy actor and actress are simply becoming B次元官网网址渂est lead performerB次元官网网址� in a comedy.

Previously, each category allowed for five nominees, but going forward the Academy says eight nominees will be considered.

It adds that the change follows B次元官网网址渁 large-scale consultation effort completed over five yearsB次元官网网址� and involved input from B次元官网网址�40 key industry organizations.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭he 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,B次元官网网址� academy Chairman John Young said Thursday in a release.

The move follows a broader industry shift away from gender-specific awards that includes the Toronto International Film FestivalB次元官网网址檚 Tribute Awards and the Independent Spirit Awards, which recently announced gender-neutral acting categories for its 2023 edition.

The Junos, the Grammys, the British Independent Film Awards, and the MTV Movie & TV Awards also feature non-gendered categories.

The Canadian Screen AwardsB次元官网网址� digital media performance categories have been gender-neutral since 2019.

B次元官网网址淎s the Canadian Academy, we recognize it is our duty to ensure that every performer has the opportunity to fully participate in our awards programs and the industry, in general, and this move brings us closer to that goal,B次元官网网址� the academyB次元官网网址檚 interim CEO, Louis Calabro, said in a statement.