Something that's been on my mind about how we view men and women's faith

Assalamu alaikum everyone. We all know that in Allah's eyes, men and women are equal in their capacity for faith. But honestly, I think a lot of us-maybe without even realizing it-carry this idea that women are just naturally less religious than men. And honestly, I get why that happens. A big part of it is that so many of the roles we immediately think of as 'religious' are filled by men. Imams, scholars, online Islamic speakers-they're mostly men. All the Prophets we know about were men too. When we see that pattern all the time, it's easy for our brains to quietly pick up the message that men might be closer to Allah. Also, even though we know Allah has no gender, in English we always say 'He'. Language shapes how we think, and it can make it hard not to link Allah with maleness, even though that's not right. I feel like this shows up everywhere, but especially in stricter circles. Some people look at women and just think 'fitnah' or temptation. And the fact that women often have to jump through so many more hoops to be seen as 'religious' kind of proves the point. For a sister to be viewed as truly devout, she often feels like she has to be almost perfect: wear hijab at the very least, dress ultra-modestly, be quiet, avoid posting anything online, skip things like makeup or fashion, be super strict about talking to non-mahram men, pray extra prayers, and basically not take up too much space. But for a brother? The standards often seem lower. A guy can dress normally, play games or sports, share photos, and still be considered very religious. Wearing a thobe or growing a beard is like bonus points. Meanwhile, if a sister enjoys makeup, she might get criticized way more harshly and be seen as less spiritual. It's like many men are just assumed to be religious from the start. But a lot of sisters feel like they have to constantly prove their devotion, almost as if they're making up for being a woman-like we're starting from a deficit. It's something we should talk about and be aware of, insha'Allah.