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Are your LinkedIn followers viewing you as a industry expert? Are hordes of commenters applauding your advice on expanding your venture? Are headhunters reaching out to explore collaborations?

If not, the reason could be that you're not male.

The Test: Changing Profile Gender to achieve Increased Reach

Numerous female professionals joined a collective professional network test this week following popular discussions suggested that changing their gender to "man" boosted their platform visibility.

Some participants rewrote their profiles to include what they termed "bro-coded" language - inserting results-driven professional jargon like "drive", "transform" and "accelerate". Based on reports, their exposure also improved.

Systemic Preference Questions Raised

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

Similar to most major social media platforms, LinkedIn employs a computerized system to decide which content are shown to which users - promoting some while reducing others.

Platform Response

Through a blog post, LinkedIn acknowledged the trend but claimed it does not consider "personal characteristics" when deciding post visibility. Rather, the company mentioned that "hundreds of signals" affect how content are received.

Modifying profile gender on your profile does not affect how your content appears in results or timelines.

Individual Results

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 show a 1,600% increase in profile views and a thirteen-fold jump in content views," she noted.

Megan Cornish, a marketing expert, began experimenting after noticing her reach decrease substantially.

The Process

• Initially, she modified her gender to "male"
• Then, she used artificial intelligence to rewrite her professional summary using "male-coded" language
• Lastly, she repurposed previous content with comparable "agentic" language

The outcome was instantaneous: a 415% increase in visibility within one week.

The Downside

Despite the positive results, Cornish expressed dissatisfaction with the approach.

"Previously, my posts were softer - concise and clever, but also warm and relatable," she stated. "Now, the bro-coded version was forceful and self-assured - similar to a Caucasian man being overly confident."

She abandoned the experiment after one week, saying "Each day I persisted, and results got better, I became more frustrated."

Mixed Results

Some participants experienced favorable results. Cass Cooper who changed both her gender to "man" and her ethnicity to "white" described a reduction in reach and engagement.

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

Broader Implications

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

Platform modifications in the past few months have apparently resulted in female creators experiencing significantly reduced visibility, leading to unofficial tests where the same content by men and women received vastly different reach.

System Details

According to LinkedIn, the network uses AI systems to classify and distribute posts based on various elements, 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."

Company representative proposed that recent declines in some users' reach might originate from higher volume due to more content on the platform.

Evolving Environment

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

"Users typically consider LinkedIn as more businesslike and polished," she remarked. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly aggressive and less controlled."