Can a deep voice help someone lead a company? A 2013 study looked at 792 men who led companies. These companies sold shares, or small parts of their businesses, to the public. Men with deeper voices led bigger companies and earned more money.
For a typical leader in the study, a lower voice went with about $187,000 more in yearly pay. They also managed a firm about $440 million larger. These leaders stayed in their jobs about 151 days longer. But the study did not show that deeper voices caused these differences.
A 2012 study also looked at voices and voting. Researchers made higher and lower versions of recordings of the same people. Men and women both chose the people with lower voices more often. Researchers still do not know if this choice helps people pick better leaders.
Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of Theranos, was known for her deep voice. Her voice sounds higher in the film You Can See Everything. Her company's scientific claims proved wrong, and a jury found her guilty of cheating investors in January 2022. The possible benefits of a deep voice did not protect her from that result.
