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Are your LinkedIn followers viewing you as a thought leader? Do numerous commenters applauding your insights on expanding your business? Do recruiters reaching out to explore opportunities?

If not, the explanation might be that you're not male.

The Test: Modifying Profile Gender to achieve Better Visibility

Numerous women joined an organized LinkedIn experiment this week after viral posts indicated that switching their gender to "male" boosted their network presence.

Some participants rewrote their professional summaries to incorporate what they called "masculine-oriented" terminology - inserting results-driven professional jargon like "drive", "transform" and "accelerate". Based on reports, their visibility also improved.

Algorithmic Bias Questions Brought Up

The engagement increase has caused some to wonder whether an inherent sexism in LinkedIn's algorithm favors male users who use professional networking terminology.

Like many large social media platforms, LinkedIn utilizes an algorithm to decide which content appear to which users - boosting some while suppressing others.

Platform Response

In a recent company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the phenomenon but stated it does not factor in "personal characteristics" when deciding post visibility. Instead, the company explained that "hundreds of signals" affect how posts are received.

Changing gender in your settings does not affect how your content appears in search or feed.

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who changed her gender identifiers to "he/him" and her name to "Simon E", reported remarkable results.

"The numbers I'm seeing show a sixteen-fold rise in visitor traffic and a thirteen-fold jump in content views," she noted.

Another professional, a marketing expert, started testing after observing her reach decrease substantially.

The Process

• First, she changed her profile gender to "man"
• Subsequently, she used AI tools to rewrite her professional summary using "male-coded" language
• Lastly, she recycled old posts with comparable "assertive" language

The result was instantaneous: a 415% increase in reach within seven days.

The Negative Aspect

Despite the success, Cornish expressed dissatisfaction with the method.

"Previously, my content were softer - concise and insightful, but also friendly and relatable," she explained. "Now, the bro-coded version was assertive and confident - like a Caucasian man swaggering around."

She discontinued the test after one week, stating "Each day I continued, and results improved, I became more frustrated."

Mixed Results

Not all participants experienced favorable results. One writer who modified both her profile gender to "male" and her ethnicity to "white" reported a reduction in visibility and engagement.

"We know there's algorithmic bias, but it's extremely difficult to understand how it functions in particular situations or why," she commented.

Broader Implications

These tests coincide with continuing conversations about LinkedIn's unique role as both a professional network and community site.

Recent changes in the past few months have reportedly caused female creators experiencing significantly reduced exposure, leading to unofficial tests where the same posts by men and women received vastly different audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

Per LinkedIn, the network uses artificial intelligence to categorize and distribute content based on multiple factors, including post content and the member's career profile.

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 higher volume due to additional posts on the network.

Evolving Environment

According to a tester 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 becoming increasingly competitive and less controlled."