🔗 Share this article Professional Network Visibility Surge: Women Find Success By Presenting to be Male Users Are your LinkedIn connections viewing you as a industry expert? Do numerous commenters praising your insights on expanding your business? Do recruiters reaching out to discuss collaborations? If not, the explanation might be that you're not male. The Test: Modifying Profile Gender to achieve Increased Reach Dozens of female professionals participated in a collective professional network test recently following popular discussions indicated that changing their profile gender to "man" boosted their platform visibility. Other testers modified their professional summaries to include what they termed "bro-coded" language - adding results-driven professional jargon like "propel", "revolutionize" and "accelerate". Based on reports, their exposure similarly increased. Systemic Preference Questions Brought Up The improved metrics has caused some to wonder whether a built-in sexism in LinkedIn's algorithm prioritizes men who employ online business jargon. Like many large social media platforms, LinkedIn employs an algorithm to decide which posts appear to which members - promoting some while reducing others. Company Statement In a recent blog post, LinkedIn recognized the trend but claimed it does not consider "personal characteristics" when deciding content distribution. Rather, the company explained that "hundreds of signals" affect how content perform. Changing gender in your settings does not influence how your content appears in search or feed. Individual Results A social media consultant, who changed her gender identifiers to "he/him" and her name to "a masculine version", described remarkable results. "The numbers I'm observing show a 1,600% increase in profile views and a 1,300% increase in impressions," she commented. Megan Cornish, a communications strategist, began experimenting after observing her reach decrease significantly. The Process Initially, she modified her profile gender to "male" Subsequently, she used AI tools to rewrite her professional summary using "masculine-oriented" wording Finally, she recycled previous content with similar "agentic" language The outcome was instantaneous: a more than fourfold rise in visibility within seven days. The Negative Aspect Although the positive results, Cornish voiced unhappiness with the approach. "Before, my posts were softer - concise and clever, but also warm and relatable," she explained. "Currently, the bro-coded version was forceful and confident - similar to a white male swaggering around." She discontinued the experiment after seven days, saying "Each day I persisted, and results got better, I became more frustrated." Mixed Results Not all testers encountered positive results. One writer who changed both her gender to "man" and her ethnicity to "Caucasian" reported a reduction in visibility and engagement. "We understand there's algorithmic bias, but it's extremely difficult to comprehend how it operates in particular situations or why," she remarked. Broader Implications These tests coincide with ongoing discussions about LinkedIn's distinctive position as both a business platform and social space. Platform modifications in recent months have apparently resulted in female creators experiencing significantly reduced exposure, leading to unofficial tests where the same posts by men and women received vastly different audience engagement. System Details Per LinkedIn, the platform uses AI systems to classify and spread posts based on multiple factors, including what's shared and the user's professional identity. The company claims it regularly evaluates its algorithms, including "examinations of inequalities based on gender." Company representative proposed that current reductions in some users' reach might originate from higher volume due to more content on the platform. Evolving Environment According to a tester observed, "bro-coding" appears to be increasing on the network. "People often view LinkedIn as more businesslike and polished," she remarked. "That's changing. It's becoming increasingly competitive and unpredictable."