🔗 Share this article

Are your professional networking followers viewing you as a thought leader? Are hordes of respondents applauding your advice on growing your venture? Do recruiters reaching out to discuss collaborations?

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

The Test: Modifying Gender Identity to achieve Increased Reach

Dozens of women joined a collective professional network test recently after viral posts suggested that switching their profile gender to "man" boosted their network presence.

Other testers rewrote their professional summaries to include what they termed "bro-coded" terminology - inserting action-focused business buzzwords like "propel", "revolutionize" and "accelerate". Based on reports, their exposure also improved.

Systemic Preference Concerns Raised

The improved metrics has led some to speculate whether a built-in gender bias in LinkedIn's algorithm favors men who use online business jargon.

Similar to many large social media platforms, LinkedIn employs an algorithm to determine which posts are shown to which members - boosting some while suppressing others.

Company Statement

Through a company announcement, LinkedIn recognized the trend but claimed it does not consider "demographic information" when determining content distribution. Rather, the company explained that "numerous factors" affect how posts perform.

Changing gender on your profile does not influence how your posts shows up in search or feed.

Personal Experiences

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

"The statistics I'm seeing show a 1,600% increase in visitor traffic and a thirteen-fold jump in impressions," she noted.

Another professional, a marketing expert, started testing after noticing her reach decrease significantly.

The Method

• First, she modified her profile gender to "male"
• Subsequently, she used artificial intelligence to rephrase her professional summary using "male-coded" language
• Lastly, she recycled old posts with similar "agentic" language

The result was instantaneous: a 415% increase in reach within seven days.

The Negative Aspect

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

"Before, my content were softer - brief and insightful, but also warm and human," she explained. "Currently, the bro-coded version was assertive and confident - similar to a Caucasian man being overly confident."

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

Mixed Results

Not all testers encountered positive results. Cass Cooper who modified both her profile gender to "male" and her ethnicity to "Caucasian" reported a reduction in visibility and interaction.

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

Broader Implications

These experiments occur alongside ongoing conversations about LinkedIn's distinctive position as both a business platform and social space.

Recent changes in the past few months have reportedly resulted in women professionals experiencing markedly lower exposure, resulting in informal experiments where the same posts by male and female users received dramatically unequal reach.

System Details

According to LinkedIn, the platform uses AI systems to categorize and distribute content based on multiple factors, including post content and the user's professional identity.

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

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

Changing Landscape

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

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