🔗 Share this article

Are your professional networking connections viewing you as a thought leader? Do numerous commenters applauding your advice on expanding your venture? Do recruiters reaching out to explore opportunities?

If not, the reason could be your gender.

The Test: Modifying Gender Identity for Better Visibility

Dozens of women joined a collective LinkedIn experiment recently following popular discussions indicated that changing their gender to "man" enhanced their network presence.

Some participants modified their professional summaries to incorporate what they called "masculine-oriented" terminology - adding action-focused professional jargon like "propel", "transform" and "accelerate". Anecdotally, their exposure also improved.

Algorithmic Bias Concerns Brought Up

The engagement increase has caused some to wonder whether a built-in gender bias in the platform's system prioritizes men who use professional networking terminology.

Similar to many large networking sites, LinkedIn utilizes an algorithm to decide which posts are shown to which users - boosting some while reducing others.

Company Statement

Through a company announcement, LinkedIn recognized the phenomenon but stated it does not factor in "personal characteristics" when determining content distribution. Instead, the company mentioned that "hundreds of signals" influence how content are received.

Modifying profile gender in your settings does not influence how your posts shows up in results or timelines.

Personal Experiences

A social media consultant, who changed her gender identifiers to "male pronouns" and her profile name to "Simon E", described remarkable results.

"The numbers I'm observing show a sixteen-fold rise in profile views and a 1,300% increase in impressions," she noted.

Megan Cornish, a marketing expert, started testing after observing her audience decline significantly.

The Process

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

The outcome was immediate: a more than fourfold rise in visibility within one week.

The Negative Aspect

Despite the positive results, Cornish voiced unhappiness with the method.

"Previously, my content were more personal - brief and insightful, but also friendly and human," she explained. "Currently, the masculine version was assertive and self-assured - similar to a Caucasian man being overly confident."

She discontinued the test after one week, saying "Every day I continued, and results got better, I became more frustrated."

Mixed Results

Some testers experienced positive results. Cass Cooper who changed both her profile gender to "male" and her ethnicity to "Caucasian" described a decrease in reach and engagement.

"We understand there's systemic preference, but it's very challenging to understand how it functions in particular situations or why," she commented.

Broader Implications

These tests coincide with ongoing discussions about LinkedIn's unique position as both a professional network and social space.

Platform modifications in recent months have apparently resulted in female creators experiencing markedly lower exposure, leading to unofficial tests where the same content by male and female users received dramatically unequal reach.

System Details

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

The company states it frequently assesses its algorithms, including "checks for gender-related disparities."

A spokesperson proposed that current reductions in some users' reach might stem from increased competition due to more content on the network.

Changing Landscape

According to a tester noted, "masculine-oriented language" appears to be increasing on the network.

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