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Do your professional networking followers recognizing you as a thought leader? Do numerous commenters praising your advice on growing your venture? Do recruiters making contact to discuss collaborations?

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

The Test: Changing Gender Identity for Better Visibility

Dozens of women participated in a collective LinkedIn experiment this week after popular discussions suggested that changing their gender to "male" boosted their platform visibility.

Other testers rewrote their professional summaries to incorporate what they termed "bro-coded" terminology - adding results-driven business buzzwords like "drive", "revolutionize" and "accelerate". Anecdotally, their visibility also improved.

Algorithmic Bias Concerns Raised

The improved metrics has led some to speculate whether a built-in gender bias in LinkedIn's algorithm favors men who employ professional networking terminology.

Like most major networking sites, LinkedIn employs a computerized system to determine which posts appear to which members - promoting some while suppressing others.

Platform Response

In a recent company announcement, LinkedIn acknowledged the trend but claimed it does not factor in "personal characteristics" when determining content distribution. Instead, the company mentioned that "numerous factors" affect how posts are received.

Changing gender in your settings does not affect how your content shows up in results or timelines.

Individual Results

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

"The numbers I'm observing show a sixteen-fold rise in visitor traffic and a 1,300% increase in content views," she commented.

Megan Cornish, a communications strategist, started testing after noticing her reach decline significantly.

The Method

• Initially, she modified her gender to "male"
• Subsequently, she used artificial intelligence to rewrite her profile using "masculine-oriented" language
• Lastly, she repurposed old posts with comparable "agentic" style

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

The Negative Aspect

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

"Previously, my content were more personal - brief and insightful, but also warm and human," she stated. "Now, the bro-coded version was forceful and self-assured - like a white male swaggering around."

She abandoned the experiment after one week, saying "Each day I continued, and results got better, I became angrier."

Mixed Results

Some testers experienced positive outcomes. Cass Cooper who changed both her profile gender to "man" and her race to "white" described a decrease in visibility and engagement.

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

Wider Consequences

These tests coincide with continuing discussions about LinkedIn's distinctive role as both a business platform and social space.

Recent changes in recent months have reportedly resulted in women professionals experiencing markedly lower exposure, leading to informal experiments where the same content by men and women received vastly different reach.

System Details

According to LinkedIn, the platform uses AI systems to categorize and spread content based on various elements, including what's shared and the user's professional identity.

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

A spokesperson proposed that recent declines in some users' reach might stem from higher volume due to more content on the network.

Changing Landscape

As one participant noted, "masculine-oriented language" appears to be increasing on the network.

"Users typically consider LinkedIn as more businesslike and refined," she commented. "This is evolving. It's becoming increasingly aggressive and unpredictable."