Does Oscar think women are better supporting performers?

While you may think that Steve Carell (Little Miss Sunshine), Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men) or James Franco (Milk) gave performances as strong as their Oscar-nominated co-stars, the academy looked the other way. Women, as it turns out, don't have to worry too much about their co-stars. For the fourth year in a row, two women from the same film (The Help) were nominated for best supporting actress.
Head over to The Film Experience, where I've looked at some statistics and pondered why this may be. And Nathaniel's added pie charts! Yayy!

Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer in The Help