Beyonce writes essay on gender equality, calls it a "myth"

Beyonce tackles gender equality, calling it a “myth” in a new essay published online Sunday as part of the annual Shriver Report on women.

She adds, “Humanity requires both men and women, and we are equally important and need one another. So why are we viewed as less than equal? These old attitudes are drilled into us from the very beginning."

 In a call for action, Beyonce writes, “We have a lot of work to do, but we can get there if we work together. Women are more than 50 percent of the population and more than 50 percent of voters. We must demand that we all receive 100 percent of the opportunities.”

The short essay serves as an excerpt from "The Shriver Report: A Woman’s Nation Pushes Back from the Brink," a partnership with the Center for American Progress. Read it here. Other celebrities have written for the report, including Eva Longoria and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Beyonce, meanwhile, surprised fans at the end of 2013 with the release of a new self-titled album, which became an instant digital hit.