This is my stance, I like that race matters in this regard.
Some of my favorite gear in GW2 was race locked to my race.
The belief that 'many' equality issues in the real world have been solved is both hopeful and wrong.
There are plenty of equality issues still to be resolved in our world. Taking care of those is more important than bits-and-bytes in a video game. Go forth and make the real world a better place.
The way gear works in this game, it's not just a matter of flipping a switch and saying everyone can use this now. Our character models are like Lego pieces made from chunks of gear models. They'd have to actually make a new model for each race/gear combo. So each set would need six new models (or five, for the female Midlander and male Roe, already shared with Viera and Hrothgar), and would have to be functionally entirely new items to separate them. It's a lot more work than it seems at first glance.
I'm not really objecting to it, mind you. Just saying, it's not simple.
The only good thing with "race" specific gear in GW2 is that the charr often get unique outfits for their tails too... on armors and outfits that can be worn by any race. There are otherwise multiple instances of NPC of a race using another races cultural armor, again proving that the restrictions in place are arbitrary.
It's a slippery slope. Punishment is not a word I would use. However, I can definitely relate to feelings of unfairness. It becomes a matter of perspective though. Where I see unfairness, I can also see additions. When I say additions, things like new races, gearsets, hairstyles, etc. can all be seen as additions to the game. This is a very good thing. However, if they are not made available for everyone due to some kind of restriction, then it is unfair. I think this is a perspective I've had difficulty seeing.
I think an argument which would have helped me understand where the unfairness is coming from is that a signature identity of this mmo that separates it from many others is how you can do everything on one character. That was an impression I got before I subbed. Knowing what I know now as a new sub, I would quickly question if this is true, then why do so many players have alts?
The thing about races in particular, is that I think the more diverse you can make them, the better. There is going to be limitations here, which prevents and excludes using iconic creatures like Moogles as a playable race. However on a sliding scale where one side is diverse and the other side is homogenized, I think the closer we get to the latter, the less purpose there is for actual races to be in the game. As a result of that, the only way to truly diversify the races is through cosmetics. And without restrictions, we move the scale closer to the point where there isn't even a point to have different races or genders in the game at all. Granted, we are far from that but I will point back to my slippery slope comment.
There is always more to diversity than just races and restricting cosmetics to certain races would ultimately be counter-intuitive to forwarding diversity because now you got a situation where a race itself is cosmetically conformist putting us in situations where we are stuck with fewer and less diverse groups than what we would have had with total freedom.
The "diversity" you talk about could have been perfectly achievable by just making an FC with a strict race/dress-code.
Ultimately culture, art and styles is something that should be shared and used for inspiration or it's just going to stagnate and die out.
It’s less about them looking good and more about how the sets don’t fit the aesthetic of one (or more) of the three physical ranged jobs. None of the physical ranged sets released have really suited Dancer’s aesthetic. Or Bard. The Neo-Ishgardian set is my favorite released, but it really only can aesthetically play into Machinist with its steampunk style.
GNB has been in the same boat for the most part this expansion as far as Tome gear is concerned. And other than one Eden set (Eden's Promise) they haven't gotten anything fitting there. Gunblades are interchangeable though. Thankfully they added some crafted glamours which fit okay, but not all of them.