It’s awards season, that time of year filled with numerous prestigious awards ceremonies: People’s Choice, the Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, the Grammys and Academy Awards. Each comes together with the purpose of honoring the best work from the year’s directors, actors, writers and artists.

Though television is becoming more and more diverse with hit shows like “How To Get Away With Murder,” “Empire,” “Black-ish,” “Fresh Off The Boat” and “Jane The Virgin,” the Hollywood film industry is lagging behind. According to a study conducted by the University of California at Los Angeles in 2013, though ethnic minorities represent nearly 40 percent of the U.S. population, only 17 percent landed lead roles in theatrical films.

Discrimination is very much alive today. Religion, ethnicity, gender and sexual preference all are factors that can be looked down upon. Racial prejudice is increasingly evident in Oscar nominations. In the 88-year history of the Academy Awards, only 14 black, five Latino and three actors of Asian descent have won accolades.

For the second year in a row, all 20 actors nominated in the lead and supporting acting categories are white.

Of the Academy’s voting members, 97 percent are white, 76 percent are male and the average age of the members is 63. These statistics do not accurately represent the U.S. population, which the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated to be 77 percent caucasian, 50.8 percent female and have the average age of 37. Similarly, the interests of the Academy vary drastically from the public.

“Creed,” the 2015 addition to the Rocky franchise, instantly gained fans and critics approval. The film takes a surprising turn by featuring Adonis Johnson, a black fighter, as the hero. The film’s star and black director, Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler respectively, however, were not nominated. The only nomination for the film is Sylvester Stallone for Best Supporting Actor.

“Straight Outta Compton,” a hit film about a black hip-hop group, made its debut in August of 2015 and brought in over $200 million worldwide. The film features a black director and producer, in addition to its talented cast. Despite this, “Straight Outta Compton” is only nominated for its screenplay—the writers of which happened to be white.

Many individuals were quick to notice of the lack of African American, Latino and Asian nominees.

Just days after this year’s nominations were announced, several celebrities made announcements of their own. Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Spike Lee and Michael Moore let the world know that they would be boycotting the awards ceremony due to its lack of representation of minorities. Other prominent figures in society, such as George Clooney, Reese Witherspoon, Viola Davis, Lupita Nyong’o and President Obama, have called for greater representation in front of and behind the camera.

Although airtime for minorities has increased over the past century, there is much more work to be done. And, despite the immense approval of critics this past year, “Beasts of No Nation,” “Chi-raq,” “Straight Outta Compton” and “Creed” need to receive the proper acknowledgements they deserve by the Academy. Putting aside the talents of these individuals and judging them solely on race is wrong.