🔗 Share this article

Are your professional networking followers recognizing you as a industry expert? Are hordes of respondents praising your insights on growing your business? Do recruiters reaching out to explore opportunities?

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

The Experiment: Modifying Gender Identity to achieve Increased Reach

Numerous women joined a collective professional network test this week following viral posts indicated that changing their profile gender to "male" enhanced their network presence.

Some participants rewrote their profiles to incorporate what they called "bro-coded" language - inserting action-focused business buzzwords like "drive", "revolutionize" and "accelerate". Based on reports, their exposure similarly increased.

Algorithmic Bias Questions Brought Up

The improved metrics has led some to speculate whether an inherent gender bias in the platform's system prioritizes men who use professional networking terminology.

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

Company Statement

Through a company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the trend but claimed it does not consider "personal characteristics" when deciding content distribution. Rather, the company mentioned that "numerous factors" influence how posts perform.

Changing gender on your profile does not influence how your content appears in search or feed.

Personal Experiences

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 profile views and a thirteen-fold jump in content views," she noted.

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

The Process

• Initially, she modified her profile gender to "male"
• Then, she used artificial intelligence to rewrite her profile using "masculine-oriented" language
• Finally, she repurposed old posts with similar "agentic" language

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

The Downside

Although the success, Cornish expressed unhappiness with the approach.

"Previously, my posts were more personal - concise and clever, but also warm and human," she explained. "Currently, the bro-coded version was forceful and self-assured - similar to a Caucasian man being overly confident."

She abandoned the test after seven days, stating "Every day I persisted, and outcomes got better, I became more frustrated."

Varying Outcomes

Some testers encountered positive outcomes. Cass Cooper who changed both her gender to "man" and her race to "white" described a decrease in reach and interaction.

"We know there's systemic preference, but it's very challenging to comprehend how it operates in specific cases or why," she remarked.

Wider Consequences

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

Recent changes in the past few months have apparently resulted in women professionals experiencing significantly reduced visibility, leading to unofficial tests where identical posts by male and female users received vastly different audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

According to LinkedIn, the platform uses AI systems to classify and spread posts based on various elements, including what's shared and the user's professional identity.

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

A spokesperson proposed that current reductions in some users' reach might stem from increased competition due to more content on the platform.

Changing Landscape

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

"Users typically consider LinkedIn as more businesslike and refined," she remarked. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly aggressive and unpredictable."