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Do your LinkedIn followers viewing you as a thought leader? Are hordes of commenters praising your insights on expanding your business? Do recruiters making contact to discuss opportunities?

If not, the reason could be your gender.

The Test: Modifying Profile Gender to achieve Better Visibility

Numerous women participated in a collective LinkedIn experiment this week after popular discussions suggested that switching their gender to "male" boosted their network presence.

Other testers modified their professional summaries to incorporate what they called "bro-coded" terminology - adding action-focused business buzzwords like "propel", "revolutionize" and "expedite". Anecdotally, their exposure also improved.

Algorithmic Bias Concerns Raised

The improved metrics has led some to speculate whether a built-in sexism in LinkedIn's algorithm prioritizes men who use professional networking terminology.

Similar to most major social media platforms, LinkedIn utilizes a computerized system to decide which content appear to which members - promoting some while reducing others.

Company Statement

Through a blog post, LinkedIn recognized the phenomenon but stated it does not consider "demographic information" when deciding post visibility. Rather, the company explained that "numerous factors" affect how content perform.

Changing gender in your settings does not affect how your posts appears in search or feed.

Individual Results

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

"The statistics I'm seeing indicate a 1,600% increase in visitor traffic and a 1,300% increase in content views," she noted.

Another professional, a communications strategist, began experimenting after noticing her reach decline significantly.

The Process

• First, she changed her profile gender to "male"
• Subsequently, she used artificial intelligence to rephrase her professional summary using "masculine-oriented" language
• Lastly, she repurposed old posts with comparable "assertive" style

The result was immediate: a 415% increase in visibility within seven days.

The Downside

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

"Before, my posts were more personal - concise and clever, but also friendly and human," she stated. "Now, the bro-coded version was forceful and confident - like a white male swaggering around."

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

Mixed Results

Some testers experienced positive outcomes. One writer who changed both her gender to "male" and her ethnicity to "white" described a decrease in visibility and engagement.

"We understand there's algorithmic bias, but it's extremely difficult to understand how it operates in specific cases or why," she commented.

Broader Implications

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

Recent changes in the past few months have reportedly resulted in women professionals experiencing markedly lower exposure, leading to unofficial tests where identical posts by male and female users received vastly different audience engagement.

Technical Explanation

According to LinkedIn, the network uses artificial intelligence to classify and distribute posts based on various elements, including what's shared and the user's professional identity.

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

Company representative proposed that recent declines in certain members' visibility might originate from increased competition due to additional posts on the network.

Evolving Environment

According to a tester observed, "bro-coding" appears to be increasing on the network.

"People often view LinkedIn as more businesslike and polished," she commented. "This is evolving. It's becoming increasingly competitive and unpredictable."