The roles of women in society in the past were different than today. Traditionally, women were expected to raise their children and take care of the home. Since then, women's roles have changed. Today, women are present in all fields of work and have more power and equality than in the past (Sandberg 50). However, the world is still not entirely equal because women are not paid equally, do not have equal representation in the workplace and are held back by gender boundaries. Hillary Clinton, Beyoncé Knowles, and Sheryl Sandberg all exemplify how women can gain power and equality in the 21st century by demanding power, respect, equality, breaking gender stereotypes, and symbolizing female independence. Each of these powerful women rose to fame in different ways. Yale graduate Hillary Clinton became First Lady of the United States in 1993 (Stacey 41). She was later elected senator in 2001 (Bernstein 6). Clinton then ran for president in 2008 and became Secretary of State (Traister 3, 293). Beyoncé Knowles was passionate about music as a child and joined a girl group, Girls Tyme at a young age (Arenofsky vix). This group later became Destiny's Child, who became famous and won numerous awards (Arenofsky vix). The group disbanded in 2004 and Beyoncé began her solo career which was very successful (Arenofsky vix). Sheryl Sandberg has been dealing with workplace affairs since she graduated from Harvard (Slaughter). She held several positions: research assistant to Lawrence Summers at the World Bank, management consultant at McKinsey, chief of staff to Summers at the Treasury Department, at Google, she became vice president of global online sales and operations (Slaughter).. .... half of the newspaper ...... alongside leading women in the #BanBossy campaign." NY Daily News. NYDailyNews.com, March 10, 2014. Web. March 30. 2014. Sandberg, Sheryl. Lean In : Women, Work, and the Will to Lead New York: Random House Incorporation, 2013. Print.Slaughter, Anne-marie York Times, March 7, 2013. Web. April 30, 2014. Stacey, TJ Hillary Rodham Clinton: Activist First Lady Hillside: Enslow , 1994. Print."'The Melissa Harris-Perry Show' for Saturday, December 14, 2013." MSNBC on NBCNews.com, December 16, 2013. Web, May 26, 2014. t Cry: The Election That Changed Everything for Women American New York: Free, 2010. Print.Gray, Emma "Daily Mail Praises Beyoncé's 'Slim Waist' in Her 'Pretty Hurts' Video Criticizing Beauty Culture." TheHuffingtonPost.com, December 13, 2013. Web. April 30. 2014.