As a first lady, every workday is blessedly different, and the thrill of being able to give back to the society that welcomed me 16 years ago has yet to diminish. Yet there is one persistent expectation that tends to follow me, and others like me, wherever I go: that I play the role of genteel sidekick.

This summer, for instance, European Council President Donald Tusk shared a video on Instagram from the G7 meeting in Biarritz, France. The video was of Melania Trump, Brigitte Macron, Malgosia Tusk and Akie Abe — spouses of President Trump, President Emmanuel Macron of France, Mr. Tusk and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan — gazing out to sea, dresses fluttering in the wind. The caption: “The light side of the Force.”

As the spouse of a head of state, the Instagram made me cringe. It is regrettable to see independent, intelligent women reduced to props who exist to support their husbands’ political agendas — to see them celebrated first and foremost for their sartorial decisions or, as Mr. Tusk’s post implied, their demure and gentle demeanors. In 2019, can we not do better than presume the spouses of our leaders have nothing more worthwhile to do with their time than traipse after their other halves to sample wines, watch traditional dances and take in the view while their (almost exclusively) male counterparts take care of Serious Business?