đź”— Share this article Professional Network Visibility Surge: Female Professionals Discover Better Results When Pretending to be Male Users Are your professional networking followers recognizing you as a industry expert? Are hordes of commenters praising your advice on expanding your venture? Are headhunters reaching out to explore opportunities? If not, the reason might be your gender. The Experiment: Changing Profile Gender to achieve Better Visibility Numerous women joined a collective LinkedIn experiment recently after popular discussions suggested that switching their profile gender to "man" boosted their platform visibility. Some participants modified their professional summaries to incorporate what they termed "bro-coded" terminology - inserting action-focused professional jargon like "propel", "transform" and "expedite". Based on reports, their visibility 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. Similar to most major networking sites, LinkedIn employs an algorithm to decide which posts appear to which users - boosting some while reducing others. Platform Response Through a company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the phenomenon but claimed it does not consider "demographic information" when determining post visibility. Instead, the company explained that "numerous factors" influence how posts perform. Modifying profile gender in your settings does not affect how your content appears in search or feed. Individual Results A social media consultant, who changed her pronouns to "male pronouns" and her profile name to "a masculine version", reported remarkable outcomes. "The numbers I'm observing indicate a sixteen-fold rise in profile views and a 1,300% increase in content views," she noted. Megan Cornish, a marketing expert, began experimenting after noticing her audience decrease significantly. The Process First, she modified her gender to "male" Then, she used artificial intelligence to rephrase her professional summary using "male-coded" language Lastly, she repurposed old posts with similar "assertive" language The result was instantaneous: a 415% increase in reach within one week. The Negative Aspect Despite the positive results, Cornish voiced unhappiness with the method. "Previously, my posts were more personal - brief and clever, but also warm and human," she stated. "Now, the bro-coded version was assertive and confident - like a white male swaggering around." She abandoned the experiment after seven days, stating "Every day I continued, and results got better, I became more frustrated." Mixed Results Some testers encountered positive results. Cass Cooper who changed both her gender to "man" and her race to "Caucasian" reported a decrease in visibility and interaction. "We know there's algorithmic bias, but it's extremely difficult to understand how it operates in specific cases or why," she commented. Broader Implications These tests coincide with ongoing conversations about LinkedIn's distinctive position as both a business platform and social space. Recent changes in the past few months have apparently resulted in female creators experiencing significantly reduced visibility, leading to unofficial tests where identical posts by male and female users received vastly different audience engagement. System Details According to LinkedIn, the network uses artificial intelligence to classify and distribute posts based on multiple factors, including post content and the user's professional identity. The company states it frequently assesses its algorithms, including "examinations of inequalities based on gender." Company representative proposed that recent declines in certain members' visibility might stem from higher volume due to additional posts on the platform. Changing Landscape As one participant noted, "bro-coding" appears to be growing on the platform. "Users typically consider LinkedIn as more professional and refined," she commented. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly aggressive and unpredictable."