The Water Cooler: Do Men and Women Read Different Articles on LinkedIn?

LinkedIn’s 645 million members have many differences. They work in different industries, in different jobs, and in different countries. LinkedIn members also have different genders, of course, and in this month’s Water Cooler, we explored whether men and women engaged with the same content on the LinkedIn platform.

The answer is yes.

And no.

On the one hand, seven of the top 10 articles in August engaged with by men and women on LinkedIn were exactly the same. Both men and women engaged with articles that examined good leadership and positive culture. Both genders also appear interested in being effective users of LinkedIn: In the top two in both lists was Robert Glazer’s article, “5 Things to Stop Doing on LinkedIn Immediately.”

On the other hand, the three articles that were in the women’s top 10 but not in the men’s (and vice versa) were revealing. Of the three articles that were only in the women’s top 10, two — “Being Kind Doesn’t Cost a Thing” and “Relating with Others Is Just as Important as Working with Others” — each discussed interacting at work in kind and empathetic ways, which shows that while men are not uninterested in this topic, women may have a greater interest.

The three articles that were only in the men’s top 10 were a post about Elon Musk, another on Amazon, and one more on toxic workplaces. In previous Water Coolers, we have found a fascination with successful entrepreneurs and companies, and this finding seems to indicate that the engagement with these kinds of articles may be more male-driven than female.

Here’s a look at the complete Top 10 lists for both men and women:  

Top 10 Articles Engaging Women

1. A Truly Great Boss is Hard to Find, Difficult to Leave and Impossible to Forget By Brigette Hyacinth
2. 5 Things to Stop Doing on LinkedIn Immediately By Robert Glazer
3. Make Culture Part of Your Performance Management By Norman Murray
4. Being Kind Doesn’t Cost a Thing By Ojus Sharma
5. Change your Attitude. Change Your Life. Live in Opportunity and Positivity By Lia Smith
6. Relating with Others Is Just as Important as Working with Others By Mike Kaeding
7. I Like Working with Professionals By Jason Hornberger
8. The Most Toxic Employees at Your Company Aren't the Ones Who Quit By Robert Glazer
9. The Best Leaders Are Humble Leaders By Brigette Hyacinth
10. A New Swedish Bicycle Is Made from 300 Recycled Nespresso Pods By Anne Quito, Quartz

Top 10 Articles Engaging Men

1. 5 Things to Stop Doing on LinkedIn Immediately By Robert Glazer
2. Elon Musk Limits Meetings at Tesla to Only Six People — and Made It a Rule that Employees Should 'Walk Out' if Nothing's Getting Accomplished By Justin Bariso, Inc.
3. A Truly Great Boss is Hard to Find, Difficult to Leave and Impossible to Forget By Brigette Hyacinth
4. Make Culture, Part of Your Performance Management By Norman Murray
5. The Most Toxic Employees at Your Company Aren't The Ones Who Quit By Robert Glazer
6. Amazon just Opened its Biggest Office Building — and It's not in the United States By
7. I Like Working with Professionals By Rishi Iyengar, CNN Business
8. 5 Ways to Identify a Toxic Workplace — Before You Accept the Job By Robert Glazer
9. Change your Attitude. Change Your Life. Live in Opportunity and Positivity By Lia Smith
10. The Best Leaders Are Humble Leaders By Brigette Hyacinth

Lessons for Salespeople

The lesson here is simple: know your audience. Salespeople know they should pitch differently to CMOs and CFOs. Should they consider pitching differently to men and women? Perhaps, but the findings from this Water Cooler, with overlap on 7 articles in the men’s and women’s top 10, indicate that we have more in common than you might think.

Dive deeper into what decision makers are reading on LinkedIn by taking a look at the previous Water Cooler posts. And to keep pace with the latest thinking in sales, subscribe today to the LinkedIn Sales Blog.