🔗 Share this article

Are your professional networking connections viewing you as a thought leader? Are hordes of commenters praising your insights on growing your venture? Do recruiters reaching out to discuss collaborations?

Should that not be the case, the explanation could be your gender.

The Experiment: Changing Profile Gender to achieve Better Visibility

Numerous female professionals participated in a collective professional network test recently after popular discussions indicated that changing their gender to "male" enhanced their network presence.

Some participants rewrote their professional summaries to incorporate what they termed "masculine-oriented" language - adding action-focused professional jargon like "propel", "revolutionize" and "accelerate". Anecdotally, their visibility similarly increased.

Systemic Preference Concerns Brought Up

The improved metrics has caused some to wonder whether a built-in sexism in LinkedIn's algorithm prioritizes men who use online business jargon.

Similar to many large social media platforms, LinkedIn utilizes a computerized system to determine which content are shown to which members - promoting some while suppressing others.

Company Statement

In a recent blog post, LinkedIn acknowledged the phenomenon but stated it does not consider "demographic information" when determining post visibility. Rather, the company explained that "hundreds of signals" influence how content are received.

Modifying profile gender on your profile does not affect how your posts appears in search or feed.

Personal Experiences

A social media consultant, 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 thirteen-fold jump in content views," she noted.

Megan Cornish, a marketing expert, began experimenting after noticing her audience decline substantially.

The Method

• First, she modified her gender to "man"
• Then, she used artificial intelligence to rephrase her profile using "male-coded" wording
• Finally, she repurposed previous content with comparable "assertive" language

The outcome was immediate: a 415% increase in reach within one week.

The Downside

Although the positive results, Cornish expressed unhappiness with the approach.

"Previously, my posts were softer - brief and insightful, but also warm and relatable," she explained. "Now, the masculine version was forceful and confident - like a Caucasian man swaggering around."

She discontinued the test after one week, stating "Each day I persisted, and outcomes got better, I became angrier."

Varying Outcomes

Some testers encountered favorable results. Cass Cooper who changed both her gender to "man" and her ethnicity to "white" reported a reduction in reach and interaction.

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

Wider Consequences

These experiments occur alongside ongoing discussions about LinkedIn's distinctive position as both a business platform and community site.

Recent changes in recent months have reportedly resulted in women professionals experiencing markedly lower visibility, leading to unofficial tests where the same content by men and women received dramatically unequal audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

According to LinkedIn, the platform uses AI systems to categorize and spread posts 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."

A spokesperson proposed that current reductions in some users' reach might originate from increased competition due to additional posts on the platform.

Evolving Environment

According to a tester noted, "bro-coding" appears to be increasing on the network.

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