Other engineering disciplines require certification/licenses/exams, for software lots of people refuse to even do simple coding tests during interviews. I'm doubtful that software engineer titles have ever had any meaning.
I've got bad news for you. I've worked in some of those those other disiplines, and the certifications/licenses/exams just make things worse. Instead of having a lot of unqualified people with big titles, you have unqualified people with big titles and it's now harder to recruit good talent because of the gatekeeping effect and expense of the certifications/licenses/exams.