🔗 Share this article Professional Network Visibility Boost: Women Find Success By Presenting as Men Are your professional networking connections viewing you as a industry expert? Are hordes of respondents applauding your insights on expanding your venture? Are headhunters reaching out to discuss opportunities? Should that not be the case, the explanation could be that you're not male. The Experiment: Changing Gender Identity for Better Visibility Numerous women joined a collective professional network test recently following popular discussions suggested that changing their profile gender to "male" enhanced their platform visibility. Some participants rewrote their profiles to include what they called "bro-coded" terminology - inserting results-driven business buzzwords like "propel", "revolutionize" and "accelerate". Based on reports, their exposure also improved. Systemic Preference Concerns Brought Up The improved metrics has caused some to wonder whether an inherent gender bias in LinkedIn's algorithm prioritizes male users who use online business jargon. Like many large social media platforms, LinkedIn employs a computerized system to determine which content appear to which members - boosting some while reducing others. Platform Response Through a company announcement, LinkedIn recognized the phenomenon but claimed it does not factor in "personal characteristics" when deciding content distribution. Instead, the company explained that "hundreds of signals" influence how posts perform. Changing gender in your settings does not affect how your posts appears in results or timelines. Individual Results Simone Bonnett, who modified her pronouns to "he/him" and her profile name to "a masculine version", described extraordinary outcomes. "The numbers I'm seeing show a 1,600% increase in visitor traffic and a thirteen-fold jump in impressions," she commented. Megan Cornish, a marketing expert, started testing after noticing her audience decrease significantly. The Process Initially, she modified her profile gender to "male" Subsequently, she used AI tools to rewrite her profile using "male-coded" wording Lastly, she repurposed previous content with comparable "assertive" style The outcome was immediate: a more than fourfold rise in visibility within one week. The Negative Aspect Despite the success, Cornish voiced unhappiness with the method. "Previously, my posts were more personal - brief and insightful, but also friendly and relatable," she stated. "Now, the bro-coded version was forceful and confident - like a white male being overly confident." She abandoned the experiment after one week, stating "Every day I continued, and results improved, I became angrier." Varying Outcomes Not all participants encountered positive results. Cass Cooper who modified both her profile gender to "male" and her ethnicity to "white" reported a decrease in reach and engagement. "We know there's systemic preference, but it's very challenging to comprehend how it functions in particular situations or the reasons behind it," she remarked. Broader Implications These experiments occur alongside ongoing discussions about LinkedIn's unique role as both a professional network and community site. Platform modifications in recent months have apparently resulted in female creators experiencing markedly lower exposure, leading to informal experiments where identical content by men and women received dramatically unequal reach. System Details Per LinkedIn, the network uses artificial intelligence to categorize and spread content based on multiple factors, including post content and the member's career profile. The company claims it frequently assesses its algorithms, including "checks for gender-related disparities." Company representative suggested that recent declines in certain members' visibility might stem from increased competition due to additional posts on the network. Changing Landscape According to a tester noted, "bro-coding" appears to be increasing on the platform. "People often view LinkedIn as more businesslike and polished," she commented. "That's changing. It's turning into increasingly competitive and less controlled."