--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: why is the word 'qualified' applied only…" description: "\"why is the word 'qualified' applied only to those who have to be more so?\" — Gloria Steinem" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/gloria-steinem-277_discrimination_why-is-the-word-qualified-applied-only-t_1136464.jpg" --- # why is the word 'qualified' applied only to those who have… ![“why is the word 'qualified' applied only to those who have to be more so?” quote by Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/gloria-steinem-277_discrimination_why-is-the-word-qualified-applied-only-t_1136464.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/gloria-steinem-277_discrimination_why-is-the-word-qualified-applied-only-t_1136464.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/gloria-steinem-277_discrimination_why-is-the-word-qualified-applied-only-t_1136464.jpg) > “why is the word 'qualified' applied only to those who have to be more so?” [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Questioning why the term “qualified” is reserved for those who must prove more, highlighting double standards in expectations. **In simple terms:** Why is “qualified” used only for those who must prove more? Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge unfair labeling. Themes gender bias language social standards Mood critical reflective Type analytical social commentary When to use this quote - workplace hiring - academic admissions - media representation - political discourse Key Concepts qualifications double standards identity power dynamics Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape expectations? - Who decides what counts as “qualified”? A Different Perspective The term can also empower when used inclusively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Discrimination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/discrimination/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) ## Related quotes > [ This \[EURO\] was never a hate group, the European American Unity and Rights Organization was an organization in its charter is dedicated to true… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/this-euro-was-never-a-hate-group-the-european-american-unity-and/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [The purpose of affirmative action is to give our nation a way to finally address the systemic exclusion of individuals of talent on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/the-purpose-of-affirmative-action-is-to-give-our-nation-a-way-to/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [Women get hit with a double whammy. If they're attractive, they're presumed to have slept their way to the top. If they're unattractive, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-get-hit-with-a-double-whammy-if-they-re-attractive-they-re/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Because women of color were more likely to be in the paid labor force, they were more likely to recognize discrimination, so they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/because-women-of-color-were-more-likely-to-be-in-the-paid-labor-force/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Obviously, there is much similarity among the challenges of transgender people and all women - from health care to harassment to discrimination in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/obviously-there-is-much-similarity-among-the-challenges-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [the less powerful group usually knows the powerful one much better than vice versa - blacks have had to understand whites in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-less-powerful-group-usually-knows-the-powerful-one-much-better/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [anything being perceived as being superior takes the noun. And everything that isn't, that's judged to be inferior, requires an adjective. So there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/anything-being-perceived-as-being-superior-takes-the-noun-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [There's been the same kind of demonizing of the word 'feminism' as words like 'liberal,' 'affirmative action,' and so on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/there-s-been-the-same-kind-of-demonizing-of-the-word-feminism-as/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [It wasn't until after college that I started writing. I had just applied randomly for jobs in the media and got one on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/it-wasn-t-until-after-college-that-i-started-writing-i-had-just/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [You see the genius that Whitney Houston has as an interpreter of material, and you realize why genius can be applied to only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-davis/you-see-the-genius-that-whitney-houston-has-as-an-interpreter-of/) [Clive Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-davis/) > [Originally, I think, I wanted to be an actor. But I got into broadcasting by accident, if you will, because I needed money to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-trebek/originally-i-think-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor-but-i-got-into/) [Alex Trebek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-trebek/) > [I've taken the experiences that I've had in the theatre and applied them to film and television and now games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/i-ve-taken-the-experiences-that-i-ve-had-in-the-theatre-and-applied/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) Will Advise > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [When I went to medical school, the term 'digital' applied only to rectal exams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-topol/when-i-went-to-medical-school-the-term-digital-applied-only-to-rectal/) [Eric Topol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-topol/) ## More by Gloria Steinem > [People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/people-waste-more-time-waiting-for-someone-to-take-charge-of-their/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Nothing will happen automatically. Change depends on what you and I do every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/nothing-will-happen-automatically-change-depends-on-what-you-and-i-do/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Women are never again going to be mindless coffee-makers or mindless policy-makers in politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/women-are-never-again-going-to-be-mindless-coffee-makers-or-mindless/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [The state of female artists is very good. But the very definition of art has been biased in that 'art' was what men did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/the-state-of-female-artists-is-very-good-but-the-very-definition-of/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [We will live to see the day that St. Patrick's Cathedral is a child-care center and the pope is no longer a disgrace to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/we-will-live-to-see-the-day-that-st-patrick-s-cathedral-is-a-child/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Just when you thought multi-nationals and crazed consumerism were too big to fight, along comes Naomi Klein with facts, spirit, and news of successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/just-when-you-thought-multi-nationals-and-crazed-consumerism-were-too/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I don't know Beyoncé, but I have the impression that she's sincere, that she really is a feminist and wanted to put the word…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-don-t-know-beyonc-but-i-have-the-impression-that-she-s-sincere-that/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I started out life as a writer, and writers write in part because they don't want to talk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-started-out-life-as-a-writer-and-writers-write-in-part-because-they/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Proust's tea cake has nothing on one hour in a college dorm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/proust-s-tea-cake-has-nothing-on-one-hour-in-a-college-dorm/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Sadomasochiasm - which we know very well doesn't exist in societies that don't have child abuse - is regarded some sort of natural sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/sadomasochiasm-which-we-know-very-well-doesn-t-exist-in-societies/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Behave like everything you do matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/behave-like-everything-you-do-matters/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [“Part of traveling over years means coming back to the same place and knowing it for the first time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/part-of-traveling-over-years-means-coming-back-to-the-same-place-and/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say. I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/if-you-say-i-m-for-equal-pay-that-s-a-reform-but-if-you-say-i-m-a/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [I think that part of everybody's success is due to their looks, but it just works in different ways. If you're whatever society calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/i-think-that-part-of-everybody-s-success-is-due-to-their-looks-but-it/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) > [Of course, we can change. We're very adaptable. But it takes a while.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/of-course-we-can-change-we-re-very-adaptable-but-it-takes-a-while/) [Gloria Steinem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) [Explore all 766 Gloria Steinem quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/) ## More Applied quotes > [When I went to medical school, the term 'digital' applied only to rectal exams.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-topol/when-i-went-to-medical-school-the-term-digital-applied-only-to-rectal/) [Eric Topol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-topol/) > [I went to school at night in L.A. to brush up on my engineering while I applied to the astronaut program. I really did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-went-to-school-at-night-in-l-a-to-brush-up-on-my-engineering-while/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [“Having no applicable skills, in any possible area whatsoever, effectively makes me the master of redundancy. But that info is obsolete, like my insults…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-advise/having-no-applicable-skills-in-any-possible-area-whatsoever/) Will Advise > [I've taken the experiences that I've had in the theatre and applied them to film and television and now games.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-spacey/i-ve-taken-the-experiences-that-i-ve-had-in-the-theatre-and-applied/) [Kevin Spacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-spacey/) > [Originally, I think, I wanted to be an actor. But I got into broadcasting by accident, if you will, because I needed money to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-trebek/originally-i-think-i-wanted-to-be-an-actor-but-i-got-into/) [Alex Trebek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-trebek/) > [You see the genius that Whitney Houston has as an interpreter of material, and you realize why genius can be applied to only a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clive-davis/you-see-the-genius-that-whitney-houston-has-as-an-interpreter-of/) [Clive Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clive-davis/) > [It wasn't until after college that I started writing. I had just applied randomly for jobs in the media and got one on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-kinsella/it-wasn-t-until-after-college-that-i-started-writing-i-had-just/) [Sophie Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-kinsella/) > [I applied for funding to embark on an overseas field trip in Iceland, and spent six weeks there happily holed up in the national…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-kent/i-applied-for-funding-to-embark-on-an-overseas-field-trip-in-iceland/) [Hannah Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-kent/) > [Her death contributed to my later interest in studying biochemistry, an interest that has not been fulfilled in the sense that my accomplishments remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-d-boyer/her-death-contributed-to-my-later-interest-in-studying-biochemistry/) [Paul D. Boyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-d-boyer/) > [I was very close to my father. At the age of ten I wanted to do plays, and my father was very encouraging. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-cattrall/i-was-very-close-to-my-father-at-the-age-of-ten-i-wanted-to-do-plays/) [Kim Cattrall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-cattrall/) > [The same thing I applied to football, I applied to trying to be an actor and hopefully it came off well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-rice/the-same-thing-i-applied-to-football-i-applied-to-trying-to-be-an/) [Jerry Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-rice/) > [The notion of 'Queen's English' is usually applied to our pronunciation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-dent/the-notion-of-queen-s-english-is-usually-applied-to-our-pronunciation/) [Susie Dent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-dent/) > [Around 17 to 20 years, I became, myself, a poacher. And I wanted to do it, because - I believed - to continue my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corneille-ewango/around-17-to-20-years-i-became-myself-a-poacher-and-i-wanted-to-do-it/) [Corneille Ewango](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corneille-ewango/) > [Style is not something applied. It is something that permeates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wallace-stevens/style-is-not-something-applied-it-is-something-that-permeates/) [Wallace Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wallace-stevens/) > [Always applied myself 100 per cent to what I'm doing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ward-prowse/always-applied-myself-100-per-cent-to-what-i-m-doing/) [James Ward-Prowse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ward-prowse/) Browse all 135 Applied quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "why is the word 'qualified' applied only to those who have to be more so?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gloria Steinem" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/why-is-the-word-qualified-applied-only-to-those-who-have-to-be-more-so/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Applied" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/why-is-the-word-qualified-applied-only-to-those-who-have-to-be-more-so/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/gloria-steinem-277_discrimination_why-is-the-word-qualified-applied-only-t_1136464.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/gloria-steinem-277_discrimination_why-is-the-word-qualified-applied-only-t_1136464.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cd8/gloria-steinem-277_discrimination_why-is-the-word-qualified-applied-only-t_1136464.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“why is the word 'qualified' applied only to those who have to be more so?” — Gloria Steinem", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Gloria Steinem", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-steinem/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "why is the word 'qualified' applied...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/why-is-the-word-qualified-applied-only-to-those-who-have-to-be-more-so/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-steinem/why-is-the-word-qualified-applied-only-to-those-who-have-to-be-more-so/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```