Two high-profile members of the US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have said the body which organises the Oscars must take great care not to sacrifice standards in its ongoing efforts to improve diversity.

Marcia Nasatir, formerly the first female vice president of production at studio United Artists, and Oscar-nominated DreamWorks Animation producer Bonnie Arnold, signalled concern at the rapid pace of moves to improve the number of ethnic minority, female and younger members. Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs last month oversaw the induction of 322 new “invitees”, the largest in the body’s history.

“I think we spend too much time saying, ‘There are five women, 12 African Americans, three Latinos, 12 Asians,’” Nasatir told the Hollywood Reporter. “I think that’s the wrong way to look at it, really.” She also said she was concerned the induction might deliver an unfairly rosy impression of an industry which still struggles when it comes to diversity, adding: “They can’t choose people who don’t have jobs.”

Bonnie Arnold, who recently became DreamWorks Animation’s co-president of feature animation, said Academy membership was a “huge personal achievement in terms of what you’ve accomplished in your career” and said standards should not be compromised. “That’s how I grew up thinking, that that was the penultimate moment, when I was able to be accepted into the Academy, because it was about achievement,” she said. “Forget that I was a woman, forget all that – it was about personal, professional achievement.

She added: “I think the challenge is that people that worked hard in their careers to become members of the Academy don’t want to see that piece of it compromised, honestly. I am speaking for myself – this is my personal opinion. But I do think, ‘Is there a balance between that and making the Academy feel more representative of the people that are seeing films?’ That’s the balancing act. The challenge of the members of the Academy, when they vote and when they accept new members, is keeping that in mind plus also maintaining the level of professional achievement – the standard – that’s required to be a member.”

Last month, Isaacs said that the Academy was seeking to “normalise” its membership, after decades of being seen as a Hollywood club for members who are largely white, male and over the age of 50. Past critics have praised the induction of high numbers of new ethnic minority, female and younger members as a way to radically shift the kind of movies garlanded each year at the world’s most prestigious film ceremony.

The Academy has been regularly criticised for its lack of diversity, with the Los Angeles Times claiming in 2012 that more than 90% of members were white and 77% of members were male. Many believe this reflects poorly on the individuals and films nominated for Oscars. Of the 20 acting nominees for the 2015 ceremony last February, all were of Caucasian origin, leading to the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite trending on Twitter.