Professional Network Visibility Surge: Female Professionals Discover Better Results By Presenting as Male Users
Do your professional networking followers recognizing you as a industry expert? Do numerous commenters applauding your insights on growing your business? Do recruiters making contact to discuss opportunities?
Should that not be the case, the explanation might be that you're not male.
The Experiment: Modifying Profile Gender to achieve Increased Reach
Dozens of women joined an organized LinkedIn experiment this week after viral posts indicated that switching their gender to "male" boosted their platform visibility.
Other testers modified their professional summaries to incorporate what they termed "bro-coded" language - adding action-focused professional jargon like "propel", "transform" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their exposure similarly increased.
Algorithmic Bias Questions Brought Up
The engagement increase has caused some to wonder whether an inherent sexism in LinkedIn's algorithm 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 users - promoting some while reducing others.
Company Statement
Through a company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the trend but stated it does not factor in "personal characteristics" when deciding content distribution. Rather, the company mentioned that "numerous factors" affect how content perform.
Modifying profile gender on your profile does not affect how your content appears in search or feed.
Personal Experiences
Simone Bonnett, who modified her pronouns to "he/him" and her profile name to "Simon E", described remarkable results.
"The numbers I'm observing show a 1,600% increase in profile views and a thirteen-fold jump in content views," she noted.
Megan Cornish, a communications strategist, began experimenting after observing her audience decline substantially.
The Process
- First, she modified her profile gender to "male"
- Then, she used artificial intelligence to rephrase her professional summary using "masculine-oriented" wording
- Lastly, she recycled previous content with similar "assertive" style
The outcome was instantaneous: a 415% increase in reach within one week.
The Negative Aspect
Despite the success, Cornish voiced unhappiness with the approach.
"Previously, my content were softer - brief and insightful, but also friendly and human," she explained. "Now, the masculine version was assertive and self-assured - similar to a white male being overly confident."
She abandoned the experiment after one week, stating "Each day I continued, and results got better, I became more frustrated."
Varying Outcomes
Not all participants encountered positive results. Cass Cooper who changed both her profile gender to "man" and her ethnicity to "white" reported a reduction in reach and interaction.
"We know there's systemic preference, but it's extremely difficult to understand how it functions in specific cases or the reasons behind it," she commented.
Wider Consequences
These experiments occur alongside continuing discussions about LinkedIn's unique role as both a professional network and community site.
Platform modifications in recent months have reportedly resulted in women professionals experiencing significantly reduced visibility, resulting in informal experiments where the same content by male and female users received vastly different audience engagement.
System Details
Per LinkedIn, the network uses AI systems to classify and spread posts based on multiple factors, including what's shared and the member's career profile.
The company states it frequently assesses its algorithms, including "examinations of gender-related disparities."
Company representative suggested that current reductions in certain members' visibility might stem from increased competition due to more content on the platform.
Evolving Environment
As one participant noted, "bro-coding" appears to be increasing on the network.
"Users typically consider LinkedIn as more professional and polished," she commented. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly aggressive and unpredictable."