The power or skill to do something; what a person, machine, or system is able to do.
It comes from 'capable', which traces back to Latin 'capax', meaning 'able to hold much' or 'spacious'. The '-bility' ending turns the idea into a noun about the quality of being able to do or hold something.
Hidden in 'capability' is the image of being big enough inside to 'hold' a task or challenge. It’s not just about talent; it hints that you can grow your inner space to fit bigger and bigger jobs.
Discussions of ‘capability’ have often been used to justify excluding women and marginalized groups from education, voting, and professions by claiming they lacked the necessary abilities. Such language helped naturalize unequal access and opportunity.
Describe capabilities based on evidence, not stereotypes about gender or other identities; separate actual skills from biased assumptions.
["ability","capacity","competence"]
Women have demonstrated high capability in every field when given access, disproving long-standing claims of inherent inferiority.
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