🔗 Share this article

Do your LinkedIn connections recognizing you as a industry expert? Are hordes of commenters applauding your insights on expanding your venture? Do recruiters making contact to discuss collaborations?

If not, the reason could be your gender.

The Test: Modifying Profile Gender to achieve Increased Reach

Dozens of women joined an organized LinkedIn experiment this week after popular discussions indicated that changing their gender to "man" boosted their platform visibility.

Some participants rewrote their professional summaries to incorporate what they called "bro-coded" language - adding action-focused professional jargon like "drive", "transform" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their visibility also improved.

Systemic Preference Questions Brought Up

The engagement increase has caused some to wonder whether a built-in gender bias in LinkedIn's algorithm favors male users who use professional networking terminology.

Like many large networking sites, LinkedIn employs an algorithm to decide which posts are shown to which members - boosting some while suppressing others.

Platform Response

In a recent blog post, LinkedIn recognized the trend but claimed it does not consider "personal characteristics" when deciding content distribution. Instead, the company explained that "numerous factors" influence how content are received.

Modifying profile gender in your settings does not affect how your content appears in results or timelines.

Personal Experiences

Simone Bonnett, who changed her pronouns to "he/him" and her name to "a masculine version", reported extraordinary outcomes.

"The numbers I'm seeing show a 1,600% increase in visitor traffic and a 1,300% increase in impressions," she noted.

Another professional, a communications strategist, began experimenting after noticing her reach decrease substantially.

The Method

• Initially, she changed her gender to "male"
• Then, she used AI tools to rephrase her professional summary using "male-coded" wording
• Lastly, she repurposed old posts with comparable "agentic" language

The outcome was immediate: a 415% increase in reach within one week.

The Downside

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

"Previously, my posts were softer - brief and clever, but also warm and relatable," she stated. "Now, the masculine version was assertive and confident - like a white male swaggering around."

She abandoned the test after seven days, saying "Every day I persisted, and outcomes improved, I became angrier."

Varying Outcomes

Some testers encountered favorable outcomes. Cass Cooper who modified both her gender to "male" and her ethnicity to "white" reported a reduction in visibility and engagement.

"We understand there's algorithmic bias, but it's extremely difficult to understand how it functions in specific cases or the reasons behind it," she commented.

Broader Implications

These tests coincide with continuing discussions about LinkedIn's unique position as both a business platform and community site.

Platform modifications in the past few months have apparently caused women professionals experiencing markedly lower visibility, resulting in unofficial tests where identical content by male and female users received dramatically unequal reach.

Technical Explanation

According to LinkedIn, the platform uses AI systems to classify and spread content based on multiple factors, including what's shared and the member's career profile.

The company claims it regularly evaluates its systems, including "checks for gender-related disparities."

Company representative suggested that current reductions in certain members' visibility might stem from higher volume due to more content on the platform.

Evolving Environment

According to a tester observed, "masculine-oriented language" 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 competitive and unpredictable."