Why Are Many Women Changing Their LinkedIn Profiles To Appear Male?

A growing number of women on LinkedIn say they receive more visibility when they present themselves in more traditionally masculine ways. The discussion gained attention after a post by Megan Cornish, a mental health professional, went viral late last year for reportedly changing her gender on the professional networking site and seeing a noticeable difference in followers' attitudes.

Cornish noticed a steady decline in how many people were seeing her posts. To understand why, she ran a small experiment.

She rewrote her LinkedIn profile to sound more masculine, using ChatGPT to adjust the language. Terms such as “communicator” and “advocate” were replaced with phrases focused on leadership and growth.

Within a week, Cornish said her post impressions increased fourfold. She shared the results on LinkedIn and later in a Substack post titled “LinkedIn Likes Me Better as a Man.”

Her account quickly spread across the platform and drew hundreds of comments from other users who reported similar frustrations.

A Wave of Gender-Swap Experiments

Following Cornish’s post, many women reportedly began testing the same idea. Some changed their names to more masculine versions.

Others removed pronouns or switched their gender settings to male. Several reported sharp increases in reach, while others saw little change.

The trend has prompted broader questions about bias in professional spaces, particularly on platforms that rely heavily on algorithms.

Some users argue that business language traditionally associated with men performs better, even when the content itself is unchanged.

What Does LinkedIn Say?

LinkedIn has pushed back on those claims. In a public response, the company said its algorithms do not use demographic information such as gender, race, or age to determine content visibility.

Sakshi Jain, LinkedIn’s head of responsible AI and AI governance, told The Washington Post that changing gender settings does not affect how posts appear in feeds or search results.

Academic experts suggest the issue may reflect wider workplace dynamics rather than a single platform’s design.

Allison Elias, an assistant professor of business administration at the University of Virginia, said language historically associated with women is often undervalued in professional environments. She noted that these attitudes can become embedded in systems over time.

Carol Kulik, a professor at the University of South Australia, said professional norms tend to reward language that is more assertive and traditionally masculine. Even if algorithms are designed to be neutral, she said, they may still respond to patterns shaped by human behavior.

Not all experiments produced the same outcome. Cass Cooper, a Black writer and inclusion strategist, said her visibility declined when she changed her profile to appear male. She said the results highlighted how gender and race can intersect in complex ways online.

The debate comes as LinkedIn reports strong growth in user activity. Posting and commenting on the platform have increased significantly, intensifying competition for attention among nearly one billion users worldwide.

Cornish said she returned her profile to its original form after a week. While the experiment proved a point, she said she did not want to abandon her authentic voice to gain visibility.

The conversation continues to raise an important question for professional women: whether success online requires adapting to long-standing norms, or whether platforms must do more to ensure equal visibility for all voices.