This sounds like gatekeeping to me. Web development is a huge and rapidly expanding industry. You don't need (in fact, cannot) be an expert in all areas.
I've been a web developer for quite a few years now. Mostly front end but I do use Django as well.
I also do know some SQL so I guess I pass your arbitrary test. However, I can count the number of times I've used SQL in the last five years on one hand, and in each case it was something simple like create a role/database, and I had to Google the commands anyway due to a lack of practice.
Not really. It isn't right that the software industry use the same title for both an untrained dabbler and for a CS graduate with a year of industry experience. The former is not a developer, they're a student, or an apprentice. The latter has several years of relevant formal education but only a little industry experience.
'Traditional' engineering fields have legally protected terms like Chartered Engineer. I'm not suggesting software development need be that rigid, but I don't think it makes sense to be so inclusive with a title like 'developer' that it tells the reader almost nothing about the person's level of competence.
Legally protected terms aren't necessary for this. If you call yourself a junior Japanese translator but you don't speak Japanese, you'll be laughed out of the room by real translators. That's as it should be.
> I had to Google the commands anyway due to a lack of practice
But your understanding of the underlying concepts (i.e. the relational model) was still there, and that's no small thing. Familiarity with syntax isn't really the point.
If you're doing any kind of backend work, you need to know how your persistence layer works. You don't need to be an expert, but you need to realize the implications of what you're doing with the ORM. You need to be able to diagnose issues with your database.
There is a grey area between 'don't know' and 'expert'. and what the if someone says it's bad that jr devs don't know something, it doesn't mean they need to be an expert.
I've been a web developer for quite a few years now. Mostly front end but I do use Django as well.
I also do know some SQL so I guess I pass your arbitrary test. However, I can count the number of times I've used SQL in the last five years on one hand, and in each case it was something simple like create a role/database, and I had to Google the commands anyway due to a lack of practice.