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Are your LinkedIn connections viewing you as a thought leader? Are hordes of commenters praising your insights on expanding your venture? Do recruiters reaching out to discuss opportunities?

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

The Test: Modifying Profile Gender for Better Visibility

Numerous women participated in a collective professional network test recently after viral posts indicated that changing their gender to "male" boosted their network presence.

Some participants rewrote their professional summaries to incorporate what they termed "masculine-oriented" terminology - inserting action-focused business buzzwords like "drive", "transform" and "accelerate". Anecdotally, their exposure similarly increased.

Algorithmic Bias Concerns Raised

The improved metrics has led some to speculate whether an inherent sexism in the platform's system favors male users who employ online business jargon.

Similar to many large networking sites, LinkedIn utilizes a computerized system to decide which posts are shown to which users - promoting some while suppressing others.

Platform Response

Through a blog post, LinkedIn recognized the trend but claimed it does not factor in "demographic information" when determining content distribution. Rather, the company explained that "hundreds of signals" influence how content perform.

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

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who changed her pronouns to "he/him" and her name to "Simon E", described extraordinary results.

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

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

The Method

• First, she changed her profile gender to "male"
• Then, she used AI tools to rewrite her profile using "male-coded" language
• Finally, she recycled old posts with comparable "agentic" style

The outcome was immediate: a more than fourfold rise in reach within seven days.

The Negative Aspect

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

"Previously, my posts were more personal - brief and clever, but also friendly and human," she explained. "Now, the bro-coded version was forceful and confident - similar to a Caucasian man being overly confident."

She discontinued the test after one week, stating "Each day I continued, and outcomes improved, I became angrier."

Varying Outcomes

Not all testers encountered favorable outcomes. Cass Cooper who modified both her profile gender to "man" and her race to "Caucasian" described a reduction in reach and engagement.

"We know there's algorithmic bias, but it's very challenging to comprehend how it functions in particular situations or why," she remarked.

Broader Implications

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

Platform modifications in the past few months have apparently resulted in women professionals experiencing markedly lower visibility, resulting in unofficial tests where identical content by men and women received vastly different reach.

Technical Explanation

Per LinkedIn, the network uses AI systems to categorize and distribute posts based on multiple factors, including post content and the member's career profile.

The company states it regularly evaluates its algorithms, including "checks for inequalities based on gender."

Company representative suggested that current reductions in some users' reach might originate from increased competition due to more content on the network.

Evolving Environment

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

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