Beyoncé can preach that girls run the world and we can spread that message until our voices hurt, but feminism is more than just words — it’s a belief in female empowerment.

Feminism is the belief in the social, political and economic equality of the sexes. According to the Foundation for Economic Education, the goal of feminism is to speak on behalf of those women who lack a voice in society.

Junior Morgan Delaney is a strong advocate for women’s rights. Since fourth grade, Delaney has had one dream in mind: to become the first female president of the United States.

“People think it’s almost impossible for women to break into these [male-dominated] careers and the only reason they think it’s impossible is because it hasn’t happened,” Delaney said. “I definitely think we need to get more female politicians and leaders to get our perspective involved. At the moment, there is a small amount of women involved in government careers, which is kind of an issue because at that point we are only getting the biased perspective of a man.”

Delaney wants to see more women become leaders in all aspects of life, not just politics. She hopes that people understand that feminism is not about women’s desire to control the world, but about raising up young girls with confidence.

According to the Building Self Esteem Organization, 34 percent of girls don’t believe that they will amount to any good in their lifetime. Yet, Delaney believes that young girls have an infinite amount of power within themselves to achieve whatever they desire.

“I do love the fact that I am a woman, but it is scary because of the predestined idea that society has created for us, as women: to get married, to have children, and they look at the husband as the worker. But why can’t [women] be both?” Delaney said. “But not only does that [idea] scare me, it kind of feeds the confidence that I have that I can do it and the drive to do it because at that point I’m doing it for me, not to prove people wrong, but to accomplish something for myself.”

Delaney has seen the effect of others’ opinions tearing down people’s dreams. Outside forces should not influence the path of your life. Instead, Delaney advises that if you seek change, then make a change.

“Believing in yourself is half the battle,” Delaney said. “So many people lack the faith to accomplish their goals when they are so accomplishable. It’s sad because if they only had faith in themselves, they could have accomplished them. Faith can move mountains.”

Doni Orsini, local store owner of Olivia’s Closet and mother of two SMCHS students, has had to put a lot of faith in herself when it comes to her work. Being gracefully confident is her number one key to running her own business.

“The older and wiser that I have gotten, the more observant and aware I’ve become of when men don’t want to take me seriously,” Orsini said. “I’ve learned to be much more assertive and to stand my ground. Don’t ever be afraid to stand up for what you believe in because you can be walked all over as a women.”

Orsini wants to empower women through her fashion business by raising women’s self-esteems through their outfits.

“If someone would have told me that this is something that I would be doing I would have said that there is no way I could have handled that, never in a million years,” Orsini said. “Because I didn’t think that I had the capability or power to do it.”

In today’s work force, where men make 10 cents for every 8 cents women make, Delaney and Orsini agree that effort must be put in to achieve what you pursue.

“My goal is to be held at a high position in a job with equal pay, because the majority of most high-paid jobs or ‘upper-class’ jobs are made of white Caucasian males,” said senior Audrey Johnstone. “I want to build success for myself and not have to worry that my position will be taken from another man or being looked down upon just because I’m a woman.”

A YouGov poll done by Huffington Post reported that 77 percent of the American population avoids identifying themselves as feminist (but ironically still desire for equality among men and women). While the term “feminism” often carries a sour connotation, Delaney, Orsini and Johnstone refute any negativity of the word by sharing one common goal: that young girls be able to express their potential that will lead us into a new age of woman empowerment.

“Feminism is more about equality,” said senior Olivia Shalhoup. “There are obviously extremists in every group, and if you judge an entire group of feminists by an extremist, then you’re not getting the realistic point of what it is. It’s insulting that they just think it’s about men. It’s not men-bashing, it’s women-empowering.”