🔗 Share this article

Do your LinkedIn connections recognizing you as a thought leader? Are hordes of commenters praising your insights on growing your business? Are headhunters reaching out to explore opportunities?

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

The Experiment: Changing Profile Gender for Better Visibility

Dozens of women participated in a collective LinkedIn experiment this week following viral posts indicated that switching their gender to "man" enhanced their platform visibility.

Some participants modified their professional summaries to include what they termed "bro-coded" terminology - adding results-driven business buzzwords like "drive", "revolutionize" and "expedite". 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 male users who employ professional networking terminology.

Like many large networking sites, LinkedIn utilizes an algorithm to decide which posts are shown to which members - boosting some while reducing others.

Company Statement

Through a company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the trend but claimed it does not factor in "demographic information" when deciding post visibility. Instead, the company explained that "numerous factors" affect how posts perform.

Changing gender on your profile does not affect how your posts shows up in search or feed.

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who changed her gender identifiers to "he/him" and her name to "a masculine version", described remarkable results.

"The numbers I'm seeing indicate a sixteen-fold rise in visitor traffic and a 1,300% increase in impressions," she noted.

Another professional, a marketing expert, started testing after noticing her audience decline substantially.

The Process

• Initially, she modified her gender to "male"
• Then, she used artificial intelligence to rewrite her professional summary using "male-coded" language
• Finally, she recycled old posts with comparable "assertive" style

The result was immediate: a 415% increase in reach within seven days.

The Negative Aspect

Despite the success, Cornish voiced unhappiness with the approach.

"Before, my content were softer - brief and insightful, but also friendly and relatable," she explained. "Now, the masculine version was forceful and confident - similar to a white male swaggering around."

She discontinued the experiment after one week, saying "Each day I persisted, and outcomes improved, I became more frustrated."

Varying Outcomes

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

"We understand there's algorithmic bias, but it's very challenging to comprehend how it functions in specific cases or why," she remarked.

Broader Implications

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

Platform modifications in the past few months have apparently caused female creators experiencing significantly reduced visibility, leading to unofficial tests where identical posts by male and female users received dramatically unequal audience engagement.

System Details

Per LinkedIn, the network uses artificial intelligence to classify and spread posts based on various elements, including post content and the member's career profile.

The company claims it frequently assesses its algorithms, including "examinations of gender-related disparities."

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

Evolving Environment

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

"People often view LinkedIn as more professional and polished," she commented. "That's changing. It's becoming increasingly aggressive and unpredictable."