Just a quarter of the 49 arts sector recipients named in 2016’s honours list are women and all but two are white.

Of the 49 recipients of Australia Day honours, recognised for their contributions to the arts, just 13 (26.5%) are women and just two people, Aboriginal photographer and filmmaker Tracey Moffatt and Arab-Australian oudist Joseph Tawadros, were of a different race to white. The list of 2016 honourees, announced yesterday, could be seen as emblematic of a lack of diversity within Australia’s arts sector, raising questions about gender and racial equality within the arts. However, it is also indicative of the biassed process by which the Australia Day Honours are administered.

Across the full list of 829 Australia Day honourees, 30.3% of recipients were women – 4% more than the percentage of women listed among those recognised for their work in the arts industry. This gender and race disparity is mirrored in the Council for the Order of Australia, which selects the recipients of the prestigious awards: the exclusively white panel has just three women in contrast to 14 men.

The process of selecting recipients for the annual awards, which recognises people across Australia who have made notable accomplishments in their respective fields, is based on a nomination system. Only nominees submitted by the public are eligible for the honours. In a statement, the Council suggested this lack of diversity was the fault of the Australian public. “The Council for the Order of Australia can only consider and make recommendations based on the nominations its receives from the community,” it said. The question of gender equality among Order of Australia recipients is not a new issue, but despite this, no measures have been taken to ensure a more comprehensive system is instituted to help address this imbalance. In 2014, the current chairman of the Council of the Order of Australia, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston AC AFC, told Fairfax media, “If people out there see a woman who is excelling in any way, then they should put a nomination in.”

While the council is tasked with assessing the nominations, it has no responsibility to promote the nominations process or actively seek out worthy recipients who may not have been nominated. It is also not required to make its assessment criteria available to the public. The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet is required to offer advice on the honours system, but an investigation by the ABC in regards to this revealed very little had been actioned to ensure a wider field of recipients be nominated.

Among those named in this year’s honours list for their contribution to the arts, most were arts leaders and philanthropists, with only a handful of performers recognised. Australian World Orchestra founder and Artistic Director, Alexander Briger, and Chief Conductor of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Milton, were both honoured, along with pianist and arranger Sally Mays and Joseph Tawadros. Pop singer Tina Arena and entertainers Patsy Biscoe and Eddie Storm were also named as recipients.

Among the notable arts honourees, Douglas Gautier, CEO & Artistic Director of the Adelaide Festival Centre and Craig Hassall, CEO of Opera Australia both received a Medal of the Order of Australia (AM) and ticketing consultant Patricia Boggs received a medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). Art collector and founder of the Museum of Old and New Art in Hobart, David Walsh, received an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for his championing of contemporary visual arts. However, there was a conspicuous lack of theatre, dance or cabaret practitioners among the 2016 Australia Day honours list.