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Do your LinkedIn followers recognizing you as a thought leader? Are hordes of commenters applauding your advice on expanding your business? Are headhunters making contact to discuss collaborations?

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

The Test: Modifying Gender Identity to achieve Better Visibility

Dozens of female professionals joined an organized professional network test this week following popular discussions suggested that changing their gender to "man" enhanced their network presence.

Other testers rewrote their profiles to incorporate what they termed "masculine-oriented" language - adding results-driven professional jargon like "propel", "transform" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their visibility similarly increased.

Algorithmic Bias Concerns Brought Up

The engagement increase has caused some to wonder whether an inherent gender bias in the platform's system favors male users who employ professional networking terminology.

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

Company Statement

Through a blog post, LinkedIn acknowledged the phenomenon but stated it does not consider "demographic information" when determining post visibility. Instead, the company explained that "numerous factors" affect how content are received.

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

Individual Results

Simone Bonnett, who modified her pronouns to "male pronouns" and her name to "a masculine version", described extraordinary outcomes.

"The numbers I'm seeing indicate a sixteen-fold rise in profile views and a 1,300% increase in content views," she noted.

Another professional, a marketing expert, began experimenting after noticing her audience decrease significantly.

The Process

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

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

The Downside

Although the success, Cornish voiced dissatisfaction with the method.

"Previously, my posts were softer - brief and insightful, but also warm and relatable," she explained. "Now, the bro-coded version was forceful and confident - similar to a white male being overly confident."

She discontinued the experiment after seven days, saying "Each day I continued, and results improved, I became more frustrated."

Mixed Results

Some testers experienced favorable results. One writer who changed both her gender to "male" and her ethnicity to "white" described a reduction in visibility and engagement.

"We know there's algorithmic bias, but it's very challenging to understand how it functions in particular situations or why," she remarked.

Wider Consequences

These tests occur alongside continuing conversations about LinkedIn's distinctive position as both a professional network and social space.

Recent changes in recent months have reportedly resulted in women professionals experiencing markedly lower visibility, leading to unofficial tests where identical content by male and female users received dramatically unequal reach.

Technical Explanation

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

The company states it frequently assesses its systems, including "checks for inequalities based on gender."

Company representative proposed that recent declines in some users' reach might originate 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.

"Users typically consider LinkedIn as more businesslike and polished," she commented. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly competitive and unpredictable."