🔗 Share this article

Do your professional networking connections viewing you as a thought leader? Do numerous respondents praising your advice on growing your venture? Do recruiters making contact to explore collaborations?

Should that not be the case, the reason could be that you're not male.

The Test: Changing Profile Gender for Better Visibility

Dozens of women participated in an organized professional network test recently following viral posts indicated that changing their profile gender to "man" enhanced their network presence.

Some participants rewrote their professional summaries to incorporate what they called "bro-coded" terminology - adding action-focused business buzzwords like "drive", "revolutionize" and "accelerate". Based on reports, their visibility similarly increased.

Algorithmic Bias Questions Brought Up

The improved metrics has caused some to wonder whether an inherent sexism in the platform's system prioritizes male users who use professional networking terminology.

Like most major social media platforms, LinkedIn utilizes an algorithm to decide which posts appear to which members - boosting some while suppressing others.

Platform Response

In a recent company announcement, LinkedIn recognized the trend but claimed it does not consider "demographic information" when determining content distribution. Instead, the company explained that "numerous factors" affect how content perform.

Changing gender on your profile does not affect how your posts appears in results or timelines.

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who modified her pronouns to "male pronouns" and her name to "Simon E", described extraordinary results.

"The numbers I'm observing show a 1,600% increase in visitor traffic and a 1,300% increase in impressions," she noted.

Another professional, a marketing expert, began experimenting after noticing her audience decrease significantly.

The Method

• First, she changed her gender to "man"
• Subsequently, she used artificial intelligence to rewrite her professional summary using "masculine-oriented" language
• Lastly, she recycled previous content with comparable "assertive" language

The outcome was immediate: a more than fourfold rise in visibility within one week.

The Downside

Despite the success, Cornish expressed dissatisfaction with the approach.

"Before, my posts were softer - brief and clever, but also warm and human," she explained. "Now, the masculine version was assertive and self-assured - like a white male swaggering around."

She discontinued the experiment after seven days, saying "Each day I continued, and outcomes got better, I became more frustrated."

Varying Outcomes

Not all testers encountered favorable results. One writer who changed both her profile gender to "male" and her ethnicity to "Caucasian" described a decrease in reach and engagement.

"We know there's systemic preference, but it's very challenging to comprehend how it functions in particular situations or the reasons behind it," she commented.

Wider Consequences

These experiments occur alongside ongoing conversations about LinkedIn's unique position as both a business platform and social space.

Recent changes in the past few months have reportedly caused female creators experiencing markedly lower visibility, leading to unofficial tests where identical posts by male and female users received dramatically unequal audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

According to LinkedIn, the platform uses artificial intelligence to classify and distribute content based on multiple factors, including post content and the user's professional identity.

The company states it frequently assesses its algorithms, including "checks for gender-related disparities."

Company representative suggested that current reductions in certain members' visibility might originate from higher volume due to additional posts on the network.

Evolving Environment

As one participant observed, "masculine-oriented language" appears to be growing on the network.

"People often view LinkedIn as more professional and refined," she commented. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly competitive and unpredictable."