We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
2012 STUDENT PAPER COMPETITION WINNER: The New Boys Club: The Effect of Gender on LinkedIn Profiles.
- Authors
Peachey, Kristin
- Abstract
As social network sites continue to attract millions of users, one particular site is gaining popularity among young professionals between the ages of twenty-five and thirty-five, businesses, and recruiters. LinkedIn is a social networking site created by Reid Hoffman in 2002 to connect individuals with job opportunities. With the majority of people being offered jobs because of who they know rather than responding to job advertisements, LinkedIn can be a valuable resource for people to stay in contact with their professional network. LinkedIn may be an even greater resource for women, who have historically been left out of the business dealings of men, because the site has no gender bias. Little is known about the type of professionals taking advantage of this new networking resource and how are they using it. This exploratory research examined the effect of gender on LinkedIn profiles, including what types of information and how complete the content was that users posted about them selves. The data for this research were obtained through a content analysis of thirty LinkedIn profiles. Results supported the hypotheses that women will have fewer connections than men, women will have more complete profiles than men, and women will have more female connections than male connections. However, the results did not support the hypothesis that women will have fewer recommendations than men. The findings of this study will be most meaningful to recruiters, young professionals, career development professionals, and gender equality advocates.
- Publication
Sociological Viewpoints, 2013, Vol 29, Issue 1, p17
- ISSN
1060-0876
- Publication type
Academic Journal