🔗 Share this article

Do your professional networking followers viewing you as a thought leader? Do numerous commenters praising your insights on growing your business? Are headhunters making contact to discuss collaborations?

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

The Experiment: Modifying Gender Identity for Better Visibility

Dozens of women participated in an organized professional network test recently after viral posts indicated that changing their gender to "male" boosted their network presence.

Other testers modified their profiles to include what they termed "masculine-oriented" terminology - inserting results-driven professional jargon like "propel", "revolutionize" and "accelerate". Based on reports, their visibility similarly increased.

Systemic Preference Questions Raised

The engagement increase has caused some to wonder whether an inherent gender bias in the platform's system favors men who employ online business jargon.

Similar to many large networking sites, LinkedIn employs an algorithm to determine which posts appear to which users - boosting some while reducing others.

Company Statement

Through a company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the phenomenon but claimed it does not factor in "demographic information" when deciding content distribution. Rather, the company mentioned that "numerous factors" influence how content perform.

Changing gender in your settings does not affect how your posts appears in search or feed.

Personal Experiences

Simone Bonnett, who changed her pronouns to "he/him" and her profile name to "a masculine version", described extraordinary outcomes.

"The statistics I'm seeing indicate a 1,600% increase in visitor traffic and a 1,300% increase in content views," she noted.

Another professional, a communications strategist, began experimenting after noticing her reach decrease substantially.

The Process

• First, she changed her profile gender to "male"
• Then, she used artificial intelligence to rephrase her professional summary using "masculine-oriented" language
• Finally, she recycled old posts with similar "agentic" style

The outcome was instantaneous: a more than fourfold rise in visibility within seven days.

The Downside

Despite the success, Cornish expressed dissatisfaction with the approach.

"Previously, my posts were more personal - concise and insightful, but also warm and relatable," she stated. "Now, the bro-coded version was assertive and confident - similar to a white male swaggering around."

She discontinued the experiment after one week, stating "Every day I persisted, and outcomes got better, I became more frustrated."

Varying Outcomes

Not all participants experienced favorable results. Cass Cooper who modified both her profile gender to "male" and her ethnicity to "white" described a decrease in reach and interaction.

"We know there's algorithmic bias, but it's extremely difficult to comprehend how it operates in particular situations or the reasons behind it," she commented.

Broader Implications

These tests coincide with continuing conversations about LinkedIn's unique role as both a professional network and social space.

Platform modifications in recent months have reportedly resulted in women professionals experiencing markedly lower exposure, resulting in unofficial tests where the same posts by male and female users received vastly different reach.

Technical Explanation

Per LinkedIn, the network uses AI systems to categorize and spread posts based on multiple factors, including what's shared and the member's career profile.

The company claims it frequently assesses its algorithms, including "checks for inequalities based on gender."

A spokesperson suggested that recent declines in some users' reach might stem from increased competition due to additional posts on the platform.

Changing Landscape

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

"Users typically consider LinkedIn as more professional and polished," she remarked. "That's changing. It's turning into increasingly competitive and less controlled."