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Do your professional networking followers viewing you as a industry expert? Do numerous respondents applauding your insights on growing your business? Do recruiters reaching out to explore opportunities?

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

The Experiment: Changing Profile Gender to achieve Better Visibility

Dozens of women participated in an organized LinkedIn experiment this week after viral posts suggested that changing their gender to "male" boosted their platform visibility.

Some participants rewrote their profiles to include what they called "bro-coded" terminology - adding action-focused professional jargon like "drive", "revolutionize" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their exposure similarly increased.

Systemic Preference Questions Brought Up

The engagement increase has led some to speculate whether an inherent sexism in the platform's system prioritizes male users who use professional networking terminology.

Similar to many large social media platforms, LinkedIn utilizes an algorithm to determine which posts appear to which users - boosting some while reducing others.

Company Statement

In a recent company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the trend but stated it does not factor in "demographic information" when deciding content distribution. Instead, the company explained that "hundreds of signals" affect how content perform.

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

Personal Experiences

Simone Bonnett, who changed her gender identifiers to "he/him" and her name to "a masculine version", reported remarkable outcomes.

"The numbers I'm seeing indicate 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 audience decrease significantly.

The Method

• Initially, she changed her gender to "man"
• Subsequently, she used AI tools to rephrase her professional summary using "male-coded" language
• Finally, she repurposed previous content with similar "assertive" style

The result was instantaneous: a more than fourfold rise in visibility within seven days.

The Negative Aspect

Although the success, Cornish voiced unhappiness with the approach.

"Previously, my content were more personal - concise and insightful, but also friendly and human," she explained. "Currently, the masculine version was forceful and confident - like a Caucasian man being overly confident."

She abandoned the experiment after one week, saying "Each day I continued, and results got better, I became angrier."

Varying Outcomes

Some participants encountered favorable results. Cass Cooper who modified both her profile gender to "man" and her ethnicity to "Caucasian" reported a reduction in reach and engagement.

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

Broader Implications

These experiments coincide with continuing conversations about LinkedIn's unique position as both a business platform and social space.

Recent changes in recent months have apparently caused women professionals experiencing markedly lower visibility, resulting in unofficial tests where identical posts by male and female users received dramatically unequal audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

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

The company claims it frequently assesses its algorithms, including "examinations of inequalities based on gender."

A spokesperson suggested that recent declines in certain members' visibility might stem from higher volume due to additional posts on the platform.

Changing Landscape

As one participant 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 turning into increasingly competitive and unpredictable."