You have cause and effect backwards. Those people you are thinking of are well known for what they do outside of HN, and then they attract a following on HN.

> someone like you

Do you listen to yourself? What exactly did you mean by "someone like you"? Do you not get that the whole problem is people thinking in terms of "people like you" (i.e. "women", "muslims", "blacks", "C++ fans", "privileged white males who have had life served up to them on a silver platter") instead of "you"?

> this kind of statement is part of the problem

And what exactly is "this kind of statement"? Because AFAICT all I did was tell you some facts from my own experience.

> There are men who've used their popularity here to make contacts, promote their work, etc.

I don't doubt that (though I can't help but wonder how you would know). But so what? Different people navigate life in different ways.

Let's take a look at how you present yourself. The first sentence in your HN profile is:

"Actions speak louder than words. Men who loudly protest the unjust treatment of women while actively perpetuating it should be judged by their deeds, not their hollow and hypocritical words."

To me that does not say, "This is a person with whom you would want to do business", it says, "This is a person with a planet-sized chip on their shoulder." You should at least consider the possibility that this has as much of an effect on people's desire to interact with you professionally as your lack of a Y chromosome, because your HN profile is actually under your control.