🔗 Share this article

Do your professional networking followers viewing you as a industry expert? Do numerous commenters applauding your advice on expanding your business? Are headhunters making contact to discuss opportunities?

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

The Test: Changing Profile Gender to achieve Increased Reach

Numerous female professionals joined an organized professional network test this week following viral posts suggested that switching their gender to "male" enhanced their network presence.

Some participants rewrote their professional summaries to include what they termed "bro-coded" terminology - inserting results-driven professional jargon like "drive", "revolutionize" and "expedite". Based on reports, their visibility similarly increased.

Algorithmic Bias Questions Brought Up

The engagement increase has caused some to wonder whether a built-in gender bias in LinkedIn's algorithm prioritizes men who employ professional networking terminology.

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

Company Statement

In a recent blog post, LinkedIn recognized the phenomenon but stated it does not consider "personal characteristics" when determining content distribution. Instead, the company explained that "numerous factors" affect how content are received.

Modifying profile gender in your settings does not influence how your posts appears in search or feed.

Personal Experiences

A social media consultant, who changed her gender identifiers to "he/him" and her profile name to "Simon E", described remarkable outcomes.

"The statistics I'm seeing show a 1,600% increase in profile views and a thirteen-fold jump in impressions," she commented.

Megan Cornish, a communications strategist, started testing after observing her reach decline substantially.

The Method

• First, she changed her profile gender to "male"
• Then, she used AI tools to rephrase her professional summary using "masculine-oriented" wording
• Lastly, she repurposed previous content with comparable "assertive" language

The result was instantaneous: a 415% increase in reach within one week.

The Negative Aspect

Although the positive results, Cornish expressed dissatisfaction with the approach.

"Before, my posts were softer - concise and clever, but also friendly and relatable," she stated. "Currently, the bro-coded version was forceful and confident - similar to a Caucasian man being overly confident."

She abandoned the experiment after seven days, saying "Each day I persisted, and results improved, I became angrier."

Varying Outcomes

Not all testers encountered positive results. Cass Cooper who changed both her gender to "man" and her ethnicity to "Caucasian" reported a decrease in visibility and engagement.

"We understand there's systemic preference, but it's very challenging to comprehend how it functions in particular situations or the reasons behind it," she commented.

Broader Implications

These experiments coincide with ongoing discussions about LinkedIn's distinctive role as both a business platform and social space.

Platform modifications in recent months have reportedly resulted in female creators experiencing markedly lower visibility, resulting in unofficial tests where identical content by men and women received dramatically unequal audience engagement.

System Details

According to LinkedIn, the platform uses AI systems to categorize and distribute posts based on various elements, including what's shared and the member's career profile.

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

Company representative proposed that recent declines in some users' reach might stem from higher volume due to more content on the platform.

Evolving Environment

As one participant noted, "masculine-oriented language" appears to be growing on the platform.

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