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Are your professional networking connections recognizing you as a thought leader? Do numerous commenters applauding your advice on growing your business? Do recruiters making contact to explore collaborations?

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

The Experiment: Changing Profile Gender to achieve Better Visibility

Numerous female professionals participated in an organized professional network test this week following popular discussions suggested that switching their gender to "male" boosted their network presence.

Other testers modified their professional summaries to incorporate what they called "masculine-oriented" language - inserting action-focused business buzzwords like "propel", "revolutionize" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their exposure also improved.

Systemic Preference Questions Raised

The improved metrics has caused some to wonder whether a built-in sexism in the platform's system prioritizes male users who employ professional networking terminology.

Similar to most major social media platforms, LinkedIn utilizes an algorithm to determine which content are shown to which users - boosting some while suppressing others.

Company Statement

In a recent company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the trend but stated it does not consider "personal characteristics" when deciding content distribution. Instead, the company explained that "numerous factors" influence how content are received.

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

Personal Experiences

Simone Bonnett, who modified her pronouns to "he/him" and her profile name to "Simon E", reported extraordinary results.

"The numbers I'm seeing show a 1,600% increase in profile views and a 1,300% increase in impressions," she commented.

Megan Cornish, a marketing expert, started testing after noticing her audience decrease significantly.

The Method

• First, she modified her gender to "male"
• Subsequently, she used artificial intelligence to rephrase her profile using "male-coded" wording
• Lastly, she repurposed previous content with similar "assertive" language

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

The Negative Aspect

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

"Previously, my posts were more personal - brief and clever, but also friendly and human," she stated. "Currently, the bro-coded version was forceful and confident - similar to a white male being overly confident."

She abandoned the experiment after one week, stating "Every day I continued, and results improved, I became angrier."

Varying Outcomes

Some testers encountered favorable outcomes. One writer who modified both her gender to "man" and her ethnicity to "Caucasian" reported a reduction in reach and engagement.

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

Wider Consequences

These experiments occur alongside continuing conversations about LinkedIn's unique position as both a professional network and social space.

Platform modifications in the past few months have reportedly resulted in women professionals experiencing significantly reduced visibility, resulting in informal experiments where identical posts by men and women received vastly different reach.

System Details

Per LinkedIn, the network uses AI systems to classify and distribute posts based on multiple factors, including what's shared and the member's career profile.

The company claims it frequently assesses its systems, including "checks for inequalities based on gender."

Company representative suggested that current reductions in certain members' visibility might originate from increased competition due to more content on the platform.

Evolving Environment

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

"People often view LinkedIn as more businesslike and polished," she commented. "That's changing. It's turning into increasingly competitive and less controlled."