Professional Network Visibility Boost: Women Find Better Results By Presenting to be Men
Do your professional networking connections viewing you as a thought leader? Do numerous commenters praising your advice on growing your venture? Are headhunters reaching out to discuss collaborations?
Should that not be the case, the explanation could be that you're not male.
The Test: Modifying Profile Gender to achieve Increased Reach
Numerous female professionals joined an organized LinkedIn experiment recently following popular discussions suggested that switching their gender to "male" enhanced their platform visibility.
Other testers rewrote their professional summaries to incorporate what they termed "masculine-oriented" language - adding results-driven professional jargon like "drive", "transform" and "expedite". Based on reports, their exposure also improved.
Systemic Preference Concerns Brought Up
The improved metrics has led some to speculate whether a built-in sexism in LinkedIn's algorithm prioritizes male users who employ online business jargon.
Like many large networking sites, LinkedIn employs an algorithm to decide which posts appear to which users - promoting some while suppressing others.
Platform Response
Through a company announcement, LinkedIn recognized 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 posts are received.
Modifying profile gender on your profile does not affect how your content appears in search or feed.
Individual Results
Simone Bonnett, who modified her pronouns to "male pronouns" and her profile name to "a masculine version", reported extraordinary results.
"The numbers I'm seeing show a sixteen-fold rise in profile views and a 1,300% increase in impressions," she noted.
Megan Cornish, a communications strategist, started testing after noticing her audience decrease substantially.
The Process
- First, she changed her profile gender to "man"
- Subsequently, she used AI tools to rewrite her profile using "masculine-oriented" language
- Lastly, she repurposed previous content with similar "agentic" style
The result was immediate: a more than fourfold rise in reach within seven days.
The Negative Aspect
Despite the positive results, Cornish expressed dissatisfaction with the method.
"Previously, my content were softer - brief and clever, but also warm and relatable," she explained. "Now, the bro-coded version was forceful and self-assured - similar to a Caucasian man being overly confident."
She discontinued the test after one week, saying "Each day I continued, and results got better, I became more frustrated."
Varying Outcomes
Not all participants encountered positive outcomes. Cass Cooper who modified both her gender to "man" and her ethnicity to "white" described a decrease in reach and engagement.
"We know there's algorithmic bias, but it's very challenging to understand how it operates in particular situations or the reasons behind it," she remarked.
Wider Consequences
These tests coincide with continuing discussions about LinkedIn's unique position as both a business platform and community site.
Platform modifications in the past few months have apparently caused women professionals experiencing significantly reduced visibility, leading to unofficial tests where identical posts by men and women received vastly different reach.
Technical Explanation
According to LinkedIn, the platform uses AI systems to categorize and spread posts based on various elements, including what's shared and the member's career profile.
The company states it frequently assesses its systems, including "examinations of gender-related disparities."
Company representative proposed that recent declines in some users' reach might originate from increased competition due to additional posts on the network.
Evolving Environment
According to a tester observed, "bro-coding" appears to be increasing on the platform.
"Users typically consider LinkedIn as more businesslike and refined," she remarked. "That's changing. It's turning into increasingly aggressive and less controlled."