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Are your LinkedIn connections viewing you as a industry expert? Do numerous commenters praising your advice on growing your business? Are headhunters reaching out to explore collaborations?

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

The Experiment: Modifying Gender Identity to achieve Better Visibility

Numerous female professionals joined an organized professional network test this week following viral posts suggested that changing their profile gender to "male" boosted their platform visibility.

Some participants rewrote their professional summaries to incorporate what they called "bro-coded" terminology - adding action-focused business buzzwords like "propel", "revolutionize" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their visibility similarly increased.

Systemic Preference Concerns Brought Up

The improved metrics has caused some to wonder whether a built-in sexism in LinkedIn's algorithm favors men who employ professional networking terminology.

Similar to many large social media platforms, LinkedIn employs an algorithm to decide which posts are shown to which users - promoting some while suppressing others.

Company Statement

In a recent company announcement, LinkedIn recognized the trend but claimed it does not factor in "demographic information" when deciding content distribution. Rather, the company mentioned that "hundreds of signals" affect how posts perform.

Modifying profile gender on your profile does not affect how your content shows up in results or timelines.

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who modified her gender identifiers to "he/him" and her name to "a masculine version", described remarkable results.

"The numbers I'm observing show a sixteen-fold rise in visitor traffic and a thirteen-fold jump in content views," she commented.

Megan Cornish, a marketing expert, started testing after observing her audience decrease substantially.

The Process

• Initially, she changed her profile gender to "male"
• Subsequently, she used AI tools to rewrite her professional summary using "masculine-oriented" wording
• Finally, she recycled old posts with similar "agentic" language

The outcome was instantaneous: a more than fourfold rise in reach within seven days.

The Negative Aspect

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

"Before, my posts were softer - brief and clever, but also friendly and human," she explained. "Currently, the masculine version was assertive and confident - similar to a Caucasian man being overly confident."

She discontinued the test after seven days, saying "Every day I persisted, and outcomes got better, I became more frustrated."

Mixed Results

Not all testers encountered favorable outcomes. Cass Cooper who changed both her gender to "male" and her ethnicity to "white" reported a decrease in reach and interaction.

"We know there's algorithmic bias, but it's extremely difficult to comprehend how it functions in particular situations or why," she remarked.

Wider Consequences

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

Recent changes in the past few months have apparently caused female creators experiencing significantly reduced exposure, leading to unofficial tests where the same content by male and female users received vastly different audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

Per LinkedIn, the platform uses artificial intelligence to classify and spread content based on various elements, including what's shared and the user's professional identity.

The company claims it regularly evaluates its algorithms, including "examinations of gender-related disparities."

Company representative proposed that recent declines in certain members' visibility might stem from increased competition due to more content on the network.

Evolving Environment

According to a tester noted, "bro-coding" appears to be increasing on the network.

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