BEYONCÉ has written an essay about "the myth of gender equality", in which she calls for men to join their "wives, daughters, mothers and sisters" in demanding equal pay for women doing the same job as men. The essay appears in journalist and former Californian first lady Maria Shriver's media initiative, The Shriver Report - a collection of works discussing issues that affect women in society.

"We need to stop buying into the myth about gender equality. It isn't a reality yet," she writes. "Today, women make up half of the US 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. Equality will be achieved when men and women are granted equal pay and equal respect."

The singer joins other entertainment-industry names in writing for the report. Actress Eva Longoria writes Empowering Latinas, which stresses the need for educational opportunities for Latina women; Jennifer Garner writes Turning Poverty Around: Training Parents to Help Their Kids; and Jada Pinkett-Smith writes Human Trafficking and Slavery in the United States: You Don't See the Chains. American feminist author Barbara Ehrenreich, Hillary Rodham Clinton and sports star LeBron James have also contributed to the report.

"Humanity requires both men and women, and we are equally important and need one another. So why are we viewed as less than equal?" Beyoncé continues. "These old attitudes are drilled into us from the very beginning. We have to teach our boys the rules of equality and respect, so that as they grow up, gender equality becomes a natural way of life. And we have to teach our girls that they can reach as high as humanly possible. Women are more than 50 per cent of the population and more than 50 per cent of voters. We must demand that we all receive 100 per cent of the opportunities."

The essay can be downloaded for free until January 15 from the group's website.

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