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Do your professional networking followers recognizing you as a thought leader? Are hordes of respondents applauding your advice on growing your business? Are headhunters reaching out to discuss opportunities?

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

The Test: Modifying Gender Identity for Better Visibility

Numerous women joined an organized professional network test recently following viral posts suggested that changing their gender to "man" boosted their network presence.

Other testers rewrote their professional summaries to include what they termed "masculine-oriented" terminology - adding action-focused professional jargon like "drive", "transform" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their visibility also improved.

Systemic Preference Questions Raised

The engagement increase has led some to speculate whether a built-in sexism in LinkedIn's algorithm favors male users who use professional networking terminology.

Like most major networking sites, LinkedIn employs a computerized system to determine which posts are shown to which users - boosting some while reducing others.

Platform Response

Through a company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the trend but claimed it does not consider "personal characteristics" when determining content distribution. Rather, the company explained that "hundreds of signals" affect how posts perform.

Modifying profile gender in your settings does not influence how your content appears in search or feed.

Personal Experiences

Simone Bonnett, who changed her gender identifiers to "he/him" and her name to "Simon E", reported extraordinary outcomes.

"The numbers I'm observing indicate a 1,600% increase in profile views and a thirteen-fold jump in impressions," she noted.

Megan Cornish, a communications strategist, began experimenting after observing her audience decline substantially.

The Method

• First, she changed her profile gender to "man"
• Then, she used artificial intelligence to rewrite her professional summary using "masculine-oriented" wording
• Lastly, she repurposed old posts with similar "agentic" style

The result was immediate: a more than fourfold rise in visibility within seven days.

The Downside

Despite the positive results, Cornish voiced dissatisfaction with the approach.

"Previously, my content were softer - brief and insightful, but also warm and human," she stated. "Now, the masculine version was assertive and self-assured - similar to a white male being overly confident."

She abandoned the experiment after one week, saying "Each day I persisted, and results improved, I became angrier."

Mixed Results

Some participants experienced positive results. Cass Cooper who modified both her profile gender to "male" and her race to "white" described a reduction in visibility and engagement.

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

Wider Consequences

These experiments coincide with ongoing conversations about LinkedIn's distinctive role as both a business platform and community site.

Recent changes in recent months have apparently caused women professionals experiencing significantly reduced visibility, resulting in unofficial tests where the same posts by men and women received dramatically unequal audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

Per LinkedIn, the network uses artificial intelligence to categorize and distribute content based on multiple factors, including post content and the user's professional identity.

The company claims it frequently assesses its systems, including "examinations of inequalities based on gender."

Company representative suggested that current reductions in some users' reach might stem from increased competition due to more content on the network.

Changing Landscape

According to a tester noted, "bro-coding" appears to be growing on the network.

"Users typically consider LinkedIn as more businesslike and polished," she commented. "That's changing. It's becoming increasingly competitive and unpredictable."