Beyoncé. Chappell Roan. Kendrick Lamar. Each a member of a minority group. Each a winner of one—or more—of the 2025 Big Four Grammy Awards, the most coveted of the night.
In recent years, diversity has been on the rise where art is most widely acknowledged: award shows. From the 2023 Oscars with Everything Everywhere All at Once to the 2024 Emmys with Shōgun and now the 2025 Grammys, the entertainment industry has truly begun to uplift minority voices.
Driving this momentum to a new level, the 2025 Grammys featured a never-before-seen display of diversity—all in the face of governmental actions aimed at diminishing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
Like most award shows, the Grammys have not always been known for honoring a diverse array of artists. If you’re anything like me, you often look to award shows simply for the sake of complaining about the lack of recognition for many deserving artists.
Many top artists have called out the Recording Academy in the past, most notably The Weeknd after he was completely snubbed from the 63rd Grammys—the year that “Blinding Lights,” the best performing song in Billboard Hot 100 history, was released.
Four years later, however, the Grammys have seemingly changed their tune.
Right from the start, it was clear that the 67th Grammy Awards was going to be heralded for its diversity, as Doechii, backed by a standing ovation, made her way to the stage to accept her statue for best rap album.
Only the third woman in history to win the award, Doechii steps into line with Lauryn Hill and Cardi B—who presented the award—to make the first bit of history in the evening. Following it with one of the night’s highlights—the performance of her songs “CATFISH” and “DENIAL IS A RIVER,”—Doechii has easily cemented herself as an icon in the current music world.
And that’s not an easy feat for women, let alone women nominated in the rap categories, to accomplish at the Grammys—the Recording Academy has consistently struggled to recognize the accomplishments of female artists. In 2018, they came under fire after the former president responded to questions regarding lackluster representation by saying women needed to “step up.”
Despite this, 2025 shows a marked difference. With female artists winning the majority of top awards ranging from album of the year to best pop vocal album, this year’s Grammys discourse is truly all about the women.
Even more, the night’s top performances were considered to be those by female artists. Like the aforementioned spectacle put on by Doechii, women were the ones owning the stage. While Benson Boone certainly outdid himself with acrobatics in his performance of “Beautiful Things,” his gig along with Teddy Swims’ and Shaboozey’s were dull in comparison to the female artists’ talent.
From Sabrina Carpenter’s opening performance of “Espresso” and “Please Please Please” to Raye’s beautiful rendition of “Oscar-Winning Tears,” to Roan paying tribute to L.A. with “Pink Pony Club” and Charli XCX throwing a sneaky rave to “Von dutch” and “Guess,” female artists made the 2025 Grammys.
The woman at the top of it all? Beyoncé.
While many thought her album COWBOY CARTER would not beat out its competition, Beyoncé came out victorious in two major categories: album of the year and best country album. What’s more, Beyoncé did not just simply overcome the doubters, but she also made history that night.
The fourth Black woman to ever win album of the year—the first of this century—following in the footsteps of Hill, Whitney Houston, and Natalie Cole, Beyoncé has waited years for the most coveted Grammy. Snubbed for some of her more well-regarded albums like Lemonade, 2025 is the year that Beyoncé finally got what she has long deserved.
And though her AOTY title is one massive leap for the recognition of those underrepresented, an even more striking display of diversity came in her win for best country album. The first Black artist to ever win the award, Beyoncé has managed to elevate diversity efforts in an extreme way.
With all of this newfound appreciation for minority groups, it is easy to see just how groundbreaking this year’s Grammys were. If The Weeknd abandoning his boycott speaks to one thing, it’s that award shows are finally embracing diversity after many years of squandering deserving artists’ chances at victory.
Award shows have at long last reached the conclusion many viewers and artists have—we have reached a place where a common ground regarding diversity can be seen in the future, where awards show cynics like myself can actually look forward to watching for the results rather than look upon the Academies in despair.
The audience gets it. The artists get it. The Academies now get it.
So why does the government not get it?
Upon assuming his presidency, Donald Trump has quickly taken aim at DEI policy, vowing to dismantle the frameworks that promote fair treatment of all people. Ordering multiple executive orders pertaining to ending DEI efforts, Trump has made it a mission to fight programs that aim to promote diversity.
“(ii) The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs within the Department of Labor shall immediately cease: (A) Promoting ‘diversity,’” is written in the Jan. 21 executive order, “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”
Consequently, government DEI employees have been placed on leave, West Point has shut down clubs for women and students of color, and federal funding and support for gender-affirming care for minors has been banned—the list grows every day.
In a political environment targeted at ending DEI initiatives, it grows harder and harder to see hope for the equal treatment of underrepresented groups. But despite this dejection, diversity will not be lost any time soon.
In the face of presidential actions against diversity, the Grammys has managed to still recognize marginalized groups even after years of not doing so. From female artists to Black artists to queer artists, the Grammys put diversity at the forefront of the conversation.
Artists alike did not let the night pass without acknowledging the current political situation at hand. In Roan and Lady Gaga’s recognition of trans people and the queer community, as well as Doechii’s assurance to Black women watching that anything is possible, the artists made it clear that diversity is not a danger, but rather a necessity.
“This is not the time to shut down the diversity of voices,” said Alicia Keys during her acceptance speech for the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. “We’ve seen on this stage talented, hardworking people from different backgrounds with different points of view, and it changes the game. DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift. And the more voices, the more powerful the sound.”
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