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Are your LinkedIn connections viewing you as a thought leader? Do numerous commenters applauding your insights on growing your business? Are headhunters making contact to discuss collaborations?

If not, the reason could be your gender.

The Experiment: Changing Profile Gender for Increased Reach

Dozens of women joined a collective LinkedIn experiment this week after popular discussions suggested that changing their profile gender to "male" enhanced their platform visibility.

Some participants rewrote their professional summaries to incorporate what they termed "bro-coded" language - adding results-driven professional jargon like "propel", "revolutionize" and "accelerate". Anecdotally, their visibility similarly increased.

Algorithmic Bias Questions Raised

The improved metrics has caused some to wonder whether a built-in sexism in the platform's system prioritizes male users who use professional networking terminology.

Like many large social media platforms, LinkedIn employs a computerized system to decide which posts are shown to which members - promoting some while reducing others.

Company Statement

Through a company announcement, LinkedIn recognized the phenomenon but stated it does not consider "demographic information" when deciding post visibility. Rather, the company mentioned that "numerous factors" influence how posts are received.

Changing gender in your settings does not influence how your content shows up in results or timelines.

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who modified her pronouns to "male pronouns" and her profile name to "a masculine version", reported extraordinary outcomes.

"The statistics I'm observing indicate a 1,600% increase in profile views and a 1,300% increase in impressions," she commented.

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

The Process

• First, she modified her gender to "man"
• Subsequently, she used AI tools to rephrase her profile using "masculine-oriented" wording
• Finally, she repurposed previous content with comparable "assertive" language

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

The Downside

Although the success, Cornish voiced dissatisfaction with the approach.

"Previously, my posts were softer - concise and insightful, but also friendly and relatable," she explained. "Currently, the masculine version was forceful and confident - like a Caucasian man swaggering around."

She abandoned the experiment after seven days, stating "Each day I persisted, and outcomes got better, I became angrier."

Mixed Results

Not all participants experienced favorable results. One writer who changed both her profile gender to "man" and her ethnicity to "Caucasian" described a decrease in reach and interaction.

"We understand there's algorithmic bias, but it's extremely difficult to understand how it functions in particular situations or the reasons behind it," she remarked.

Broader Implications

These experiments occur alongside ongoing discussions about LinkedIn's distinctive role as both a professional network and community site.

Recent changes in the past few months have reportedly resulted in women professionals experiencing significantly reduced exposure, leading to informal experiments where identical posts by men and women received dramatically unequal reach.

System Details

According to LinkedIn, the network uses artificial intelligence to classify and spread content based on various elements, including post content and the user's professional identity.

The company claims it frequently assesses its systems, including "examinations of gender-related disparities."

A spokesperson suggested that recent declines in some users' reach might originate from higher volume due to more content on the platform.

Changing Landscape

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

"People often view LinkedIn as more businesslike and refined," she remarked. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly competitive and unpredictable."