🔗 Share this article

Are your LinkedIn followers recognizing you as a thought leader? Are hordes of commenters praising your insights on growing your venture? Are headhunters making contact to explore opportunities?

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

The Test: Modifying Profile Gender for Better Visibility

Numerous female professionals joined a collective LinkedIn experiment this week after viral posts indicated that switching their profile gender to "male" boosted their network presence.

Some participants modified their profiles to include what they called "bro-coded" language - adding results-driven business buzzwords like "drive", "transform" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their visibility similarly increased.

Algorithmic Bias Concerns Raised

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

Like most major networking sites, LinkedIn employs an algorithm to decide which posts appear to which users - promoting some while reducing others.

Company Statement

In a recent company announcement, LinkedIn recognized the trend but claimed it does not factor in "personal characteristics" when determining post visibility. Rather, the company mentioned that "numerous factors" affect how posts perform.

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

Personal Experiences

Simone Bonnett, who changed her pronouns to "male pronouns" and her profile name to "a masculine version", described remarkable results.

"The numbers I'm seeing show a sixteen-fold rise in profile views and a thirteen-fold jump in content views," she noted.

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

The Process

• First, she modified her gender to "male"
• Subsequently, she used artificial intelligence to rephrase her profile using "masculine-oriented" language
• Finally, she recycled previous content with similar "assertive" language

The outcome was immediate: a more than fourfold rise in visibility within seven days.

The Downside

Despite the success, Cornish expressed dissatisfaction with the approach.

"Previously, my content were softer - concise and insightful, but also warm and relatable," she stated. "Currently, the bro-coded version was assertive and confident - like a white male swaggering around."

She abandoned the test after one week, saying "Each day I continued, and outcomes improved, I became more frustrated."

Mixed Results

Not all testers experienced favorable results. One writer who modified both her profile gender to "male" and her race to "Caucasian" described a decrease in reach and engagement.

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

Wider Consequences

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

Recent changes in recent months have reportedly caused female creators experiencing markedly lower visibility, leading to informal experiments where identical posts by men and women received dramatically unequal audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

Per LinkedIn, the network uses artificial intelligence to classify and spread posts based on multiple factors, including what's shared and the member's career profile.

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

Company representative proposed that current reductions in certain members' visibility might stem from increased competition due to additional posts on the network.

Evolving Environment

As one participant noted, "bro-coding" appears to be increasing on the platform.

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