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Are your professional networking connections viewing you as a industry expert? Do numerous commenters applauding your advice on expanding your business? Are headhunters reaching out to explore collaborations?

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

The Experiment: Changing Gender Identity to achieve Better Visibility

Dozens of women joined a collective professional network test recently following viral posts indicated that changing their gender to "male" boosted their platform visibility.

Some participants modified their profiles to include what they termed "bro-coded" language - inserting results-driven professional jargon like "propel", "transform" and "expedite". Based on reports, their visibility also improved.

Systemic Preference Questions Raised

The engagement increase has led some to speculate whether an inherent sexism in LinkedIn's algorithm favors men who use professional networking terminology.

Like many large social media platforms, LinkedIn employs an algorithm to decide which posts appear to which members - promoting some while reducing others.

Company Statement

In a recent blog post, LinkedIn recognized the trend but stated it does not factor in "personal characteristics" when determining content distribution. Instead, the company mentioned that "numerous factors" affect how content are received.

Modifying profile gender on your profile does not influence how your posts shows up in results or timelines.

Individual Results

A social media consultant, who changed her gender identifiers to "he/him" and her name to "Simon E", reported remarkable results.

"The statistics I'm observing show a 1,600% increase in profile views and a thirteen-fold jump in content views," she commented.

Megan Cornish, a marketing expert, began experimenting after noticing her reach decline substantially.

The Process

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

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

The Downside

Despite the success, Cornish expressed unhappiness with the approach.

"Previously, my posts were more personal - concise and clever, but also friendly and relatable," she stated. "Now, the masculine version was assertive and confident - similar to a Caucasian man being overly confident."

She discontinued the experiment after seven days, saying "Every day I continued, and results got better, I became angrier."

Mixed Results

Not all testers experienced positive outcomes. Cass Cooper who changed both her profile gender to "man" and her ethnicity to "white" described a decrease in visibility and engagement.

"We know there's systemic preference, but it's extremely difficult to comprehend how it functions in particular situations or why," she commented.

Wider Consequences

These experiments coincide with ongoing discussions about LinkedIn's unique position as both a business platform and community site.

Platform modifications in recent months have apparently resulted in women professionals experiencing significantly reduced exposure, leading to unofficial tests where identical posts by male and female users received vastly different reach.

System Details

Per LinkedIn, the platform uses AI systems to classify and distribute content based on various elements, including post content and the member's career profile.

The company claims it regularly evaluates its algorithms, including "checks for inequalities based on gender."

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

Evolving Environment

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. "This is evolving. It's turning into increasingly competitive and unpredictable."