Women Boost LinkedIn Visibility by Adopting Male Profiles

In the competitive world of LinkedIn, where visibility can make or break professional opportunities, some women are discovering an unconventional way to enhance their online presence. Recent discussions have revealed that altering their gender to 'male' or adopting male-oriented language in their profiles has led to significant increases in engagement on the platform. This article delves into a collective experiment that highlights the potential biases within LinkedIn's algorithms and the implications for women in technology and business.

Do you find yourself striving to be recognized as a 'thought leader' among your LinkedIn connections? Are you seeking enthusiastic responses to your insights on scaling your startup? For many women, the answer has been dishearteningly negative, often attributed to gender biases. In light of this, a growing number of women participated in an intriguing collective experiment fueled by viral posts. These posts suggested that changing their gender to 'male' could enhance their visibility on the platform.

Some participants took this experiment a step further by transforming their profiles with what they referred to as 'bro-coded' language. This involved infusing their profiles with assertive, action-oriented business jargon—terms like 'drive,' 'transform,' and 'accelerate'—that are often more associated with male communication styles. Many reported a noticeable increase in their visibility and engagement on LinkedIn.

As is common with social media platforms, LinkedIn employs algorithms to determine which posts are shown to users, elevating some content while relegating others. Speculation has arisen that these algorithms might inherently favor men who utilize typical online business terminology. A blog post from LinkedIn acknowledged this trend, clarifying that the platform does not rely on demographic information to influence post visibility. Instead, they claimed that 'hundreds of signals' determine how a post performs. A LinkedIn spokesperson stated, 'Changing gender on your profile does not affect how your content appears in search or feed.'

The anecdotal evidence, however, continues to accumulate. One participant, Simone Bonnett, a social media consultant based in Oxford, decided to switch her pronouns to 'he/him' and change her name to 'Simon E' on LinkedIn. She reported an extraordinary 1,600% increase in profile views and a 1,300% spike in impressions shortly after making these changes. 'It has certainly been exciting,' Bonnett shared, highlighting the remarkable statistics that emerged.

Another participant, Megan Cornish, a communications strategist specializing in mental health technology, embarked on her own journey of experimentation after noticing a decline in her LinkedIn reach earlier this year. Initially, she altered her gender to male, then enlisted ChatGPT to transform her profile into one that utilized male-coded language. This shift was inspired by a LinkedIn post that indicated the platform favors 'agentic' vocabulary, which often includes words like 'strategic' and 'leader.'

Cornish also had ChatGPT rewrite poorly performing posts from months prior using the same male-coded language. She believed that reusing this revamped content would allow her to measure the impact of the 'bro-coding' strategy more effectively. The results were astonishing, as her reach on LinkedIn surged by 415% in just one week following these alterations. She documented her experience in a post that quickly went viral, garnering nearly 5,000 reactions.

Despite the impressive metrics, Cornish felt a disconnect with the persona she was projecting. She described her previous posts as 'soft'—concise, clever, yet warm and human. In contrast, her new approach, which she referred to as 'bro-Megan,' felt overly assertive and self-assured, likening it to 'a white male swaggering around.' Ultimately, she couldn't sustain this identity and decided to abandon the experiment after just one week. 'I was going to do it for a full month, but I just couldn't,' she admitted.

This collective experiment raises critical questions about gender representation and biases in professional environments, especially within the tech sector. Women continue to encounter challenges in being recognized and respected for their contributions, and the need to adopt male-coded language or personas to gain visibility is a reflection of systemic issues that persist in many workplaces.

The experiences of Bonnett and Cornish shed light on a troubling trend where women feel compelled to alter their identities to navigate professional networking platforms successfully. While LinkedIn's algorithms claim to be impartial, the real-world implications suggest a need for further examination of gender biases within the platform. As this conversation continues, it is crucial for women in technology and business to advocate for a more equitable representation that values diverse voices without requiring them to conform to traditional male standards of communication.