Beyoncé is taking a stand against gender inequality. The singer wrote an essay for The Shriver Report discussing her take on unequal pay and why both men and women need to stand up for improvements.
"We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn't a reality yet," Bey writes. "Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 percent of what the average working man makes. But unless women and men both say this is unacceptable, things will not change. Men have to demand that their wives, daughters, mothers and sisters earn more — commensurate with their qualifications and not their gender. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect."
Beyoncé goes on to add that it's important to teach our children that both genders are equal so that boys grow up viewing their female counterparts as no less than they are and girls won't hesitate to reach for their goals.
To read a longer excerpt of "Gender Equality Is a Myth!," click here and download a free copy of The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back From the Brink from Jan. 12-15.
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 (Photo: Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood Entertainment)