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Are your LinkedIn connections viewing you as a thought leader? Are hordes of commenters applauding your insights on expanding your business? Are headhunters making contact to explore opportunities?

Should that not be the case, the reason could be that you're not male.

The Test: Modifying Profile Gender for Increased Reach

Dozens of women joined an organized professional network test recently after viral posts indicated that switching their profile gender to "male" enhanced their platform visibility.

Some participants modified their professional summaries to include what they termed "masculine-oriented" terminology - inserting results-driven professional jargon like "propel", "revolutionize" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their visibility similarly increased.

Systemic Preference Questions Brought Up

The improved metrics has led some to speculate whether an inherent sexism in the platform's system favors male users who employ online business jargon.

Similar to most major social media platforms, LinkedIn employs a computerized system to determine which content appear to which members - boosting some while reducing others.

Platform Response

Through a blog post, LinkedIn acknowledged the trend but claimed it does not consider "personal characteristics" when determining post visibility. Rather, the company mentioned that "hundreds of signals" influence how content are received.

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

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who changed her gender identifiers to "male pronouns" and her name to "Simon E", reported remarkable outcomes.

"The numbers I'm observing show a sixteen-fold rise in visitor traffic and a 1,300% increase in impressions," she commented.

Megan Cornish, a communications strategist, started testing after noticing her reach decrease substantially.

The Process

• Initially, she modified her profile gender to "man"
• Then, she used artificial intelligence to rewrite her professional summary using "masculine-oriented" language
• Finally, she repurposed old posts with comparable "assertive" style

The outcome was instantaneous: a more than fourfold rise in reach within one week.

The Negative Aspect

Although the success, Cornish voiced unhappiness with the method.

"Before, my posts were more personal - concise and clever, but also friendly and human," she explained. "Now, the masculine version was forceful and confident - like a white male swaggering around."

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

Varying Outcomes

Some participants encountered favorable results. Cass Cooper who changed both her gender to "male" and her race to "Caucasian" described a reduction in reach and engagement.

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

Broader Implications

These experiments occur alongside ongoing conversations about LinkedIn's distinctive role as both a business platform and community site.

Recent changes in recent months have reportedly caused women professionals experiencing significantly reduced visibility, leading to informal experiments where the same content by men and women received vastly different reach.

System Details

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

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

A spokesperson suggested that current reductions in certain members' visibility might stem from higher volume due to additional posts on the network.

Changing Landscape

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

"People often view LinkedIn as more professional and polished," she commented. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly aggressive and less controlled."