The way I see it, if you actually see sexes as equal and don't discriminate, then things like this don't need much thought.

Yes, if. But that's not the default state, and it's observably a hard state to reach, even if one wants to.

For people who do want to - actually want to, not just want to signal that they want to - changing language is a popular tool, because it acts as a full-time mindfulness exercise and highlights situations where the user still needs to make an effort to reach their goals. (It's a popular signaling tool, for those who want to signal, and of course it's popular with people who want to do both; my point is that signaling is not the only reason for it.)

It's possible, I suppose, that one might be so enlightened with regards to gender that one can use gender-biased language without that indicating anything in particular about one's internal states of mind regarding gender. I don't find that very plausible, but I suppose it's possible. Since that seems to be what you're claiming, though, I'd like to ask this, which might make my incredulity clearer if your answer is as I expect it to be: Do you find it just as natural and automatic to use the supposedly-nongendered 'he' to describe nurses, kindergarten teachers, flight attendants, and parents of small children?