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Are your professional networking followers recognizing you as a industry expert? Are hordes of commenters applauding your insights on growing your venture? Are headhunters reaching out to discuss collaborations?

Should that not be the case, the reason might be that you're not male.

The Experiment: Modifying Profile Gender for Increased Reach

Dozens of female professionals participated in a collective LinkedIn experiment this week after viral posts suggested that changing their gender to "male" boosted their platform visibility.

Other testers modified their professional summaries to include what they called "masculine-oriented" language - inserting action-focused professional jargon like "propel", "revolutionize" and "accelerate". Based on reports, their visibility similarly increased.

Algorithmic Bias Questions Raised

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

Like many large networking sites, LinkedIn utilizes a computerized system to decide which posts are shown to which users - promoting some while reducing others.

Company Statement

In a recent company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the trend but claimed it does not factor in "demographic information" when deciding content distribution. Rather, the company explained that "numerous factors" influence how posts are received.

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

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who changed her pronouns to "he/him" and her name to "Simon E", described extraordinary results.

"The numbers I'm seeing indicate a 1,600% increase in visitor traffic and a thirteen-fold jump in impressions," she commented.

Megan Cornish, a communications strategist, started testing after noticing her reach decrease substantially.

The Method

• Initially, she changed her gender to "male"
• Then, she used AI tools to rephrase her professional summary using "masculine-oriented" language
• Lastly, she repurposed old posts with similar "assertive" style

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

The Negative Aspect

Despite the success, Cornish voiced unhappiness with the approach.

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

She abandoned the experiment after seven days, saying "Each day I persisted, and outcomes got better, I became angrier."

Mixed Results

Some testers encountered positive outcomes. One writer who modified both her gender to "male" and her race to "white" reported a decrease in visibility and engagement.

"We understand there's systemic preference, but it's very challenging to comprehend how it functions in particular situations or why," she remarked.

Wider Consequences

These experiments occur alongside ongoing discussions about LinkedIn's unique position as both a professional network and social space.

Platform modifications in recent months have apparently resulted in women professionals experiencing markedly lower exposure, resulting in informal experiments where the same posts by men and women received dramatically unequal reach.

System Details

According to LinkedIn, the network uses AI systems to categorize and spread posts based on multiple factors, including post content and the user's professional identity.

The company states it regularly evaluates its systems, including "examinations of gender-related disparities."

Company representative proposed that current reductions in certain members' visibility might stem from increased competition due to additional posts on the network.

Changing Landscape

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

"Users typically consider LinkedIn as more businesslike and refined," she remarked. "That's changing. It's turning into increasingly aggressive and less controlled."