Women often have higher-pitched voices. Due to unconscious or implicit biases, we might think that higher-pitched voices make women sound less threatening. However, women with higher-pitched voices can also sound less credible. They may be criticized that they don't project confidence. As a result, such perceptions can have a significant impact on women in the pharmaceutical workplace.
Advice directed at women often includes voice coaching to deepen their voices. By contrast, rather than changing the pitch of their voices, we suggest that women can project confidence in other important ways. All women's voices, no matter their pitch, should be heard and normalized so that society no longer considers anything inherently negative or wrong with a higher-pitched voice.
Workplace feedback about higher-pitched voice and lack of confidence
Recently, a friend reached out to me for advice. During our phone call, she revealed that a work superior gave feedback that my friend's higher-pitched voice made her sound as if she was not confident at team meetings.
At first, I was disappointed on her behalf. People constantly criticize women for the way they speak. Smile often while speaking, and you'll be labeled too nice and a pushover. Speak loudly, and you risk being shunned as aggressive. Speak confidently, and your audience might accuse you of having an inflated ego. Decrease the pitch of your voice, and some listeners will find your vocal fry grating.
Then, the more I thought about this feedback, the angrier I became. After all, voice pitch is mainly biological. My friend has no control over the depth of her voice. Therefore, why should anyone expect her to change it? In fact, this supervisor didn't provide any guidance nor did she provide any resources, financial or otherwise, for how my friend could "improve."
Plus, provided this feedback, my friend might become more nervous about speaking up at meetings. Not fully participating in team meetings could snowball over time, leading my friend to become increasingly disengaged in the workplace. Inclusivity at work means accepting people as their whole selves, higher-pitched voices included.
Why women have higher-pitched voices
Biology: Sex-based biological differences contribute to voice pitch, which is primarily determined by the vibratory rate of vocal folds. Longer vocal folds will vibrate at a lower frequency, which we hear as a lower pitch. In males, the vocal folds grow longer during puberty when testosterone levels rise. Thus, on average, men speak at approximately one octave below women.
Culture: In her book The Human Voice, British sociologist Anne Karpf describes how voice pitch varies across cultures. For example, women in almost every culture speak in deeper voices than Japanese women. She speculates that women's voices have deepened significantly over the last five decades, as women entered environments where they needed to sound more trustworthy, i.e., masculine.
Psychological safety: In an article for Psychology Today, Deborah Grayson Riegel explains that grown women use a softer, sing-song tone of voice, making them sound like girls. The article states that "when (female) speakers signal 'psychological safety' to the listener ... they sound like girls." They might consciously or unconsciously be giving up a commanding presence in order to appear non-threatening. Moreover, this heads off difficult conversations and direct feedback and can signal that they should not be held accountable for tough decisions.
What are the implications of higher pitch voices?
Studies (like this one and this one) suggest that men and women with lower-pitched voices may be more successful in obtaining positions of leadership. People perceive those with lower-pitched voices to be stronger, having greater physical prowess, more competent, and having greater integrity. Apparently, deeper-voiced CEOs make more money for themselves and for their companies.
By contrast, people tend to perceive those with higher-pitched voices as less trustworthy, less competent, and weaker. In the workplace, this translates to women having a harder time getting promoted. During sales pitches, it means women could be less likely to make a sale.
In the workplace, you might be able to get by with a higher-pitched voice if you can command authority or demonstrate competence in other ways. Otherwise, in team meetings and in one-on-one conversations, people may discount the contributions you make. Fortunately, it is possible to project confidence without a deeper voice.
How women can project confidence without deepening their voices
Here are ten ways women can project confidence without deepening their voices:
- Speak clearly and slowly. Avoid mumbling, rushing through your words, or speaking too quickly.
2. Avoid vocal fry (speaking in the lowest register of the voice). To some members of your audience, this can sound unprofessional and doesn't help portray confidence.
3. Project your voice slightly more than you would in a one-on-one conversation. In a meeting, you don't want to sound like you're shouting, but you want to be heard.
4. Avoid using qualifiers or caveats (e.g., saying "just" before a statement or responding with questions like: "does that make sense?").
5. Be comfortable with silence. Don't be afraid of silent pauses. Some of the most confident speakers don't talk every second. A 10-15 second pause in mid-speech can add depth and help your audience stay tuned in.
6. Have good posture. Avoid postural shifts that tend to accompany nervousness, such as fidgeting or shifting from one foot to another.
7. Make eye contact with your audience. Look at the audience as a whole, rather than staring at one person. It will make you feel less vulnerable.
8. Use gestures. Gestures signal energy, help you to stay in rhythm with your speech, and prevent you from getting "stuck" behind your lectern. Even during meetings, in-person or virtual, some limited hand gestures can really help emphasize the importance of what you have to say.
9. Use vocal variety. This means changing the loudness, tone, speed, volume, inflection, and melody of your voice depending on what you are saying.
10. Practice in front of a mirror or with a friend. You can get feedback from someone you trust about your rate, pitch, and volume. If you're practicing for an interview or presentation, record yourself on video to see how you look when you speak.
Having self-confidence can lead to speaking confidently
We can all speak confidently on a favorite topic with a group of friends. By contrast, with a less favored or familiar subject and with difficult coworkers or workplace superiors, it might be harder to feel confident.
However, having self-confidence can go a long way to helping you speak more confidently. Developing your self-confidence takes time and practice (my favorite tip: fake it until you make it). You may even find that some emotional support or professional coaching can be helpful.
Here are a few resources for how to beef up your self-confidence:
- Practical Ways to Improve Your Confidence (and Why You Should)
- How to be More Confident at Work
- Increasing Self-Confidence in the Workplace
- 5 Workplace Confidence Killers and How to Beat Them
What we need: A change in the perception of women's voices
Unfortunately, we live in a society that still judges how women speak. What we really need to change isn't women's voices, but how we think about women and their voices.
People who deliver negative feedback to women about their higher-pitched voices need to be more supportive and constructive. Rather than demanding that a woman change her voice, people could offer other strategies for overcoming the negative perceptions associated with a higher-pitched voice. At the very least, managers could look for resources to offer coaching, such as voice coaching or executive coaching.
Lastly, we all need to push for companies and organizations to create workplaces free of implicit biases. But until that happens, let's recognize and combat our potential biases against women with higher-pitched voices.
Final thoughts
Confident speaking skills are not about projecting a deeper-pitched voice. Confident speakers convey their messages clearly, use good body language, and have a range of vocal inflections that add authenticity and authority to what they're saying.
If you've been judged or know someone else who has been judged for having a higher-pitched voice, we'd love to know what you did about it!