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Do your LinkedIn followers viewing you as a thought leader? Do numerous commenters praising your advice on expanding your venture? Are headhunters making contact to discuss opportunities?

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

The Test: Modifying Gender Identity for Better Visibility

Dozens of female professionals joined a collective LinkedIn experiment this week following viral posts indicated that changing their gender to "male" enhanced their network presence.

Other testers rewrote their profiles to include what they termed "bro-coded" language - inserting action-focused business buzzwords like "drive", "transform" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their exposure similarly increased.

Algorithmic Bias Concerns Brought Up

The engagement increase has led some to speculate whether a built-in gender bias in the platform's system favors male users who use online business jargon.

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

Platform Response

In a recent company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the trend but stated it does not factor in "demographic information" when deciding content distribution. Rather, the company explained that "hundreds of signals" affect how content are received.

Modifying profile gender in your settings does not affect how your content shows up in results or timelines.

Personal Experiences

Simone Bonnett, who modified her pronouns to "he/him" and her name to "Simon E", described remarkable outcomes.

"The statistics I'm seeing show a 1,600% increase in profile views and a 1,300% increase in content views," she commented.

Megan Cornish, a marketing expert, started testing after observing her reach decrease significantly.

The Method

• Initially, she modified her profile gender to "man"
• Then, she used artificial intelligence to rewrite her profile using "male-coded" language
• Lastly, she repurposed previous content with similar "agentic" style

The outcome was instantaneous: a more than fourfold rise in reach within seven days.

The Downside

Although the success, Cornish expressed dissatisfaction with the method.

"Before, my content were more personal - concise and insightful, but also friendly and relatable," she stated. "Currently, the bro-coded version was forceful and confident - similar to a Caucasian man being overly confident."

She discontinued the test after seven days, saying "Every day I persisted, and results got better, I became more frustrated."

Varying Outcomes

Some testers experienced positive results. Cass Cooper who modified both her gender to "man" and her race to "Caucasian" reported a reduction in visibility and engagement.

"We understand there's systemic preference, but it's extremely difficult to comprehend how it operates in specific cases or the reasons behind it," she remarked.

Broader Implications

These experiments coincide with continuing conversations about LinkedIn's distinctive position as both a professional network and community site.

Recent changes in recent months have apparently resulted in female creators experiencing markedly lower visibility, leading to unofficial tests where the same content by male and female users received dramatically unequal audience engagement.

System Details

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

The company claims it frequently assesses its systems, including "checks for gender-related disparities."

A spokesperson proposed that recent declines in certain members' visibility might originate from increased competition due to more content on the network.

Changing Landscape

As one participant observed, "masculine-oriented language" appears to be increasing on the network.

"People often view LinkedIn as more professional and polished," she commented. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly aggressive and less controlled."