🔗 Share this article

Do your professional networking connections viewing you as a industry expert? Do numerous commenters applauding your advice on growing your business? Do recruiters reaching out to explore opportunities?

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

The Experiment: Modifying Profile Gender to achieve Better Visibility

Dozens of female professionals joined a collective professional network test recently after viral posts suggested that switching their gender to "man" enhanced their platform visibility.

Other testers modified their profiles to include what they termed "bro-coded" terminology - inserting results-driven business buzzwords like "propel", "revolutionize" and "expedite". Based on reports, their exposure similarly increased.

Systemic Preference Questions Brought Up

The improved metrics has caused some to wonder whether an inherent sexism in the platform's system prioritizes men who employ professional networking terminology.

Like many large social media platforms, LinkedIn employs an algorithm to decide which posts are shown to which users - boosting some while suppressing others.

Company Statement

Through a company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the phenomenon but claimed it does not factor in "demographic information" when deciding content distribution. Instead, the company explained that "hundreds of signals" affect how posts are received.

Modifying profile gender in your settings does not affect how your posts appears in results or timelines.

Personal Experiences

Simone Bonnett, who changed her pronouns to "male pronouns" and her name to "Simon E", described extraordinary outcomes.

"The statistics I'm observing indicate a sixteen-fold rise in profile views and a thirteen-fold jump in impressions," she commented.

Megan Cornish, a communications strategist, began experimenting after noticing her audience decline substantially.

The Method

• First, she changed her gender to "man"
• Subsequently, she used artificial intelligence to rewrite her profile using "masculine-oriented" language
• Finally, she repurposed old posts with comparable "assertive" language

The result was immediate: a more than fourfold rise in reach within one week.

The Downside

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

"Previously, my content were more personal - concise and clever, but also friendly and relatable," she stated. "Now, the bro-coded version was assertive and confident - like a Caucasian man being overly confident."

She discontinued the test after seven days, stating "Every day I persisted, and results improved, I became more frustrated."

Varying Outcomes

Not all testers encountered positive results. Cass Cooper who changed both her profile gender to "male" and her race to "Caucasian" reported a decrease in reach and engagement.

"We know there's systemic preference, but it's extremely difficult to understand how it functions in specific cases or the reasons behind it," 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 reportedly caused female creators experiencing markedly lower exposure, leading to unofficial tests where the same posts by men and women received dramatically unequal audience engagement.

System Details

According to LinkedIn, the platform uses artificial intelligence to classify and distribute content based on multiple factors, including post content and the user's professional identity.

The company states it regularly evaluates its algorithms, including "checks for gender-related disparities."

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

Evolving Environment

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

"Users typically consider LinkedIn as more professional and refined," she commented. "That's changing. It's becoming increasingly aggressive and unpredictable."