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Do your LinkedIn followers recognizing you as a thought leader? Do numerous commenters praising your advice on expanding your business? Do recruiters reaching out to discuss collaborations?

Should that not be the case, the explanation might be your gender.

The Experiment: Modifying Gender Identity to achieve Better Visibility

Dozens of women participated in an organized professional network test recently following popular discussions suggested that changing their gender to "man" enhanced their platform visibility.

Some participants rewrote their professional summaries to include what they called "bro-coded" terminology - inserting action-focused business buzzwords like "drive", "revolutionize" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their exposure also improved.

Systemic Preference Questions Brought Up

The improved metrics has led some to speculate whether a built-in sexism in LinkedIn's algorithm favors men who employ online business jargon.

Like many large social media platforms, LinkedIn utilizes a computerized system to decide which posts appear to which users - boosting some while suppressing others.

Company Statement

Through a blog post, LinkedIn recognized the trend but claimed it does not consider "demographic information" when determining post visibility. Rather, the company mentioned that "hundreds of signals" affect how posts perform.

Changing gender in your settings does not influence how your content shows up in search or feed.

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who changed her pronouns to "male pronouns" and her profile name to "a masculine version", reported extraordinary outcomes.

"The numbers I'm observing show a sixteen-fold rise in profile views and a thirteen-fold jump in impressions," she noted.

Megan Cornish, a marketing expert, began experimenting after noticing her audience decline significantly.

The Method

• First, she changed her profile gender to "male"
• Then, she used AI tools to rephrase her profile using "masculine-oriented" wording
• Finally, she repurposed previous content with similar "agentic" language

The result was immediate: a more than fourfold rise in reach within one week.

The Negative Aspect

Despite the success, Cornish expressed dissatisfaction with the method.

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

She abandoned the experiment after one week, saying "Every day I continued, and results improved, I became more frustrated."

Mixed Results

Not all participants experienced positive results. Cass Cooper who changed both her gender to "man" and her ethnicity to "Caucasian" reported a reduction in visibility and interaction.

"We understand there's systemic preference, but it's very challenging to understand how it operates in specific cases or why," she commented.

Wider Consequences

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

Recent changes in recent months have reportedly resulted in female creators experiencing significantly reduced exposure, leading to unofficial tests where the same content by male and female users received vastly different reach.

System Details

Per LinkedIn, the platform uses AI systems to classify and distribute content based on multiple factors, including post content and the user's professional identity.

The company claims it regularly evaluates its systems, including "checks for inequalities based on gender."

Company representative suggested that current reductions in some users' reach might stem from increased competition due to additional posts on the platform.

Evolving Environment

According to a tester observed, "masculine-oriented language" appears to be growing on the platform.

"People often view LinkedIn as more businesslike and refined," she commented. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly competitive and unpredictable."