Beyonce writes essay on gender equality

Beyonce has written an essay on gender equality as part of an initiative by Maria Shriver.

The singer has given her opinion on issues facing working women in the article, titled Gender Equality is a Myth!, in which she also discusses the pay gap between the sexes.

Beyonce is convinced women still do not earn as much as their male counterparts, and insists the issue must be addressed.

She writes, "We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn't a reality yet. Today, women make up half of the U.S. workforce, but the average working woman earns only 77 per cent 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."

The essay was written as part of The Shriver Report: A Woman's Nation Pushes Back from the Brink, a study put together by Arnold Schwarzenegger's estranged wife.

The report also includes a piece by actress Jennifer Garner on poverty issues facing families, and an essay called Empowering Latinas by Eva Longoria. Other contributors include sports star LeBron James, who opens up about his mother's struggles when he was a child, and Jada Pinkett Smith on human trafficking.