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

If not, the reason could be your gender.

The Test: Changing Profile Gender for Better Visibility

Dozens of female professionals joined an organized LinkedIn experiment recently following popular discussions indicated that switching their profile gender to "man" boosted their platform visibility.

Some participants rewrote their profiles to incorporate what they called "bro-coded" language - inserting action-focused business buzzwords like "propel", "revolutionize" and "expedite". Based on reports, their exposure similarly increased.

Systemic Preference Questions Raised

The engagement increase has led some to speculate whether a built-in sexism in the platform's system favors men who employ online business jargon.

Similar to most major networking sites, LinkedIn utilizes a computerized system to determine which posts appear to which members - promoting some while reducing others.

Platform Response

In a recent blog post, LinkedIn recognized the phenomenon but claimed it does not factor in "demographic information" when deciding post visibility. Instead, the company mentioned that "hundreds of signals" influence how posts are received.

Modifying profile gender on your profile does not affect how your content shows up in search or feed.

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who changed her pronouns to "male pronouns" and her profile name to "Simon E", reported extraordinary results.

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

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

The Process

• Initially, she modified her gender to "man"
• Then, she used AI tools to rephrase her professional summary using "masculine-oriented" language
• Lastly, she recycled old posts with comparable "assertive" style

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

The Downside

Although the success, Cornish voiced dissatisfaction with the method.

"Before, my posts were more personal - brief and clever, but also warm and relatable," she stated. "Currently, the masculine version was assertive and self-assured - similar to a white male swaggering around."

She abandoned the test after one week, stating "Every day I persisted, and outcomes improved, I became more frustrated."

Varying Outcomes

Not all participants encountered favorable outcomes. One writer who changed both her profile gender to "male" and her ethnicity to "white" reported a reduction in reach and engagement.

"We know there's systemic preference, but it's extremely difficult to comprehend how it functions in specific cases or the reasons behind it," she commented.

Wider Consequences

These experiments coincide with ongoing discussions about LinkedIn's unique position as both a professional network and community site.

Platform modifications in the past few months have reportedly resulted in women professionals experiencing significantly reduced exposure, leading to informal experiments where the same content by male and female users received vastly different audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

Per LinkedIn, the network uses artificial intelligence to classify and distribute posts based on various elements, including what's shared and the member's career profile.

The company claims it regularly evaluates its algorithms, including "examinations of inequalities based on gender."

A spokesperson suggested that recent declines in certain members' visibility might stem from increased competition due to additional posts on the network.

Changing Landscape

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

"Users typically consider LinkedIn as more businesslike and refined," she commented. "That's changing. It's turning into increasingly aggressive and unpredictable."