There is big money in winning the Oscars for best picture in DVD sales, so there is a huge incentive to "grow the vote". I think based on what little has come out with the producer soliciting votes from the judges, there is a hell of alot more shady deals in the background going on for those same votes. I believe it was a lobbying effort that got Hurt Locker the prize, not some underlying desire to see a woman win the award by the voters.

Isnt it patronizing to a woman to assume that undeserved awards and advancements are related to being a woman? If a male CEO got a huge bonus for tanking the economy, we don't say "he got it because he is a man and he didnt deserve it", but what would happen if a woman ceo got that kind of a bonus, would we say "she got it because she is a woman"?