🔗 Share this article

Are your professional networking followers recognizing you as a industry expert? Do numerous respondents praising your insights on growing your venture? Are headhunters making contact to explore opportunities?

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

The Test: Modifying Profile Gender for Increased Reach

Numerous female professionals joined a collective LinkedIn experiment recently following popular discussions suggested that switching their profile gender to "male" boosted their network presence.

Other testers rewrote their professional summaries to incorporate what they called "masculine-oriented" terminology - adding results-driven professional jargon like "drive", "revolutionize" and "expedite". Based on reports, their exposure similarly increased.

Systemic Preference Concerns Raised

The improved metrics has led some to speculate whether a built-in sexism in the platform's system favors male users who use online business jargon.

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

Company Statement

Through a blog post, LinkedIn recognized the phenomenon but claimed it does not factor in "personal characteristics" when determining post visibility. Instead, the company mentioned that "numerous factors" influence how posts perform.

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

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who modified her pronouns to "he/him" and her profile name to "a masculine version", reported remarkable results.

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

Another professional, a communications strategist, began experimenting after observing her reach decline substantially.

The Method

• Initially, she changed her profile gender to "male"
• Then, she used AI tools to rewrite her profile using "masculine-oriented" language
• Lastly, she repurposed old posts with similar "assertive" language

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

The Negative Aspect

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

"Previously, my content were softer - concise and insightful, but also friendly and human," she explained. "Currently, the bro-coded version was assertive and confident - similar to a white male being overly confident."

She abandoned the experiment after one week, saying "Each day I persisted, and outcomes got better, I became angrier."

Mixed Results

Some participants encountered positive results. One writer who changed both her gender to "man" and her race to "white" reported a decrease in reach and interaction.

"We understand there's algorithmic bias, but it's very challenging to understand how it operates in specific cases or the reasons behind it," she commented.

Broader Implications

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

Platform modifications in the past few months have apparently resulted in female creators experiencing significantly reduced exposure, resulting in unofficial tests where identical content by male and female users received dramatically unequal audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

Per LinkedIn, the platform uses artificial intelligence to classify and distribute content based on various elements, including what's shared and the member's career profile.

The company claims it frequently assesses its systems, including "examinations of inequalities based on gender."

A spokesperson proposed that current reductions in certain members' visibility might originate from increased competition due to additional posts on the network.

Evolving Environment

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

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