🔗 Share this article

Are your professional networking connections recognizing you as a thought leader? Do numerous respondents applauding your insights on growing your venture? Do recruiters making contact to discuss collaborations?

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

The Test: Modifying Profile Gender for Increased Reach

Numerous female professionals participated in a collective LinkedIn experiment this week after popular discussions indicated that switching their profile gender to "man" boosted their platform visibility.

Some participants modified their professional summaries to include what they termed "bro-coded" language - inserting results-driven business buzzwords like "drive", "transform" and "accelerate". Based on reports, their exposure similarly increased.

Algorithmic Bias Concerns Raised

The engagement increase has led some to speculate whether an inherent sexism in LinkedIn's algorithm favors men who use online business jargon.

Like most major networking sites, LinkedIn employs a computerized system to determine which posts appear to which members - promoting some while reducing others.

Company Statement

In a recent blog post, LinkedIn acknowledged the phenomenon but claimed it does not factor in "personal characteristics" when deciding content distribution. Rather, the company explained that "hundreds of signals" influence how posts perform.

Modifying profile gender in your settings does not affect how your posts shows up in search or feed.

Individual Results

A social media consultant, who changed her pronouns to "he/him" and her profile name to "a masculine version", reported remarkable outcomes.

"The statistics I'm seeing indicate a sixteen-fold rise in profile views and a thirteen-fold jump in content views," she noted.

Megan Cornish, a marketing expert, began experimenting after observing her audience decrease significantly.

The Process

• Initially, she modified her gender to "man"
• Subsequently, she used AI tools to rephrase her professional summary using "male-coded" language
• Lastly, she repurposed old posts with similar "agentic" style

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

The Negative Aspect

Despite the positive results, Cornish expressed dissatisfaction with the method.

"Before, my content were softer - concise and insightful, but also friendly and relatable," she stated. "Currently, the masculine version was assertive and confident - like a Caucasian man swaggering around."

She discontinued the experiment after seven days, stating "Each day I persisted, and results got better, I became more frustrated."

Varying Outcomes

Not all participants experienced favorable results. Cass Cooper who changed both her profile gender to "man" and her race to "Caucasian" reported a decrease in visibility and engagement.

"We understand there's systemic preference, but it's very challenging to understand how it operates in particular situations or why," she commented.

Wider Consequences

These experiments coincide with continuing discussions about LinkedIn's unique position as both a business platform and social space.

Platform modifications in the past few months have apparently caused female creators experiencing markedly lower visibility, resulting in informal experiments where the same content by men and women received dramatically unequal audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

Per LinkedIn, the network uses AI systems to categorize and spread content based on various elements, including what's shared and the member's career profile.

The company states it frequently assesses its systems, including "examinations of inequalities based on gender."

A spokesperson proposed that recent declines in certain members' visibility might stem from higher volume due to more content on the network.

Changing Landscape

As one participant noted, "bro-coding" appears to be growing on the network.

"People often view LinkedIn as more businesslike and refined," she commented. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly aggressive and less controlled."