Celebrating Women's Voices: Embracing Your Voice as Women in Leadership

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the contributions of women throughout history and recognize the challenges they still face today.

At Peacock Voices, we are honoring this month by shining a spotlight on women’s voices—their power, their potential, and the biases they often encounter in professional spaces.

The Reality of Vocal Bias

Women’s voices are judged more harshly than men’s.

A 2018 study revealed that when a male voice was digitally altered to match a feminine pitch frequency, listeners perceived it as 29% less charismatic, 31% less likable, and 13% less confident than the original male voice.

This means women must work significantly harder to be seen as equally compelling, simply based on vocal perception.

This bias leads many to believe that they are forced to choose between two extremes:

• Adopt a lower, more “masculine” pitch, which often leads to criticism for sounding inauthentic or too aggressive.

• Lean into vocal habits like upspeak and vocal fry, which have a negative impact on authority in professional settings.

Neither extreme serves women well. Instead, the key is harnessing the natural strengths of the feminine voice while making intentional choices that enhance leadership presence.

The Power of the Feminine Voice

Women’s voices possess unique strengths that can be powerful assets in leadership and communication:

• Melodic inflection keeps listeners engaged and enhances charisma.

• Flexibility in resonance allows for dynamic, expressive speech that holds attention.

• Engaging vocal lines and dynamic phrasing make speech compelling and invite active listening.

Rather than attempting to sound “more masculine,” women should focus on refining and controlling these natural abilities to maximize their vocal impact.

How to Use Your Voice for Greater Leadership Presence

If you’ve ever felt like your voice is holding you back, here are practical steps drawn directly from our expertise:

Addressing Upspeak Effectively

Upspeak—when pitch rises at the end of statements—can undermine authority. It is a speech characteristic oftentimes attributed to women’s voices and can be perceived as less confident. The goal is to control inflection so that it serves your communication, rather than detracts from it.

Try this exercise:

• Identify patterns: When do you use upspeak? Is it in high-stress situations? When speaking to authority figures?

• Start slow: Slowly read structured sentences, ensuring your pitch rises on the penultimate syllable and then falls firmly at the end. Here are a couple of practice sentences:

  • “The birch canoe slid on the smooth planks.”

  • “Glue the sheet to the dark blue background.”

• Apply this pattern to real speech. Take a script from a presentation or meeting and read it using the same controlled downward inflection at the end of each phrase.

• Build awareness in daily conversations. Ask a trusted colleague or friend to listen for upspeak and provide feedback.

With practice, you’ll maintain the natural melody of your speech pattern while reinforcing confidence and authority in your delivery.

Using Resonance for a More Powerful Presence

Did you know that vocal resonance can change the perception of how low or high your speaking voice is?

Rather than lowering pitch unnaturally, play with resonance to create vocal depth and presence without compromising authenticity.

Resonance—how sound vibrates in your vocal tract—can make your voice sound fuller and more authoritative.

Watch our YouTube video on this topic to see how shifting resonance can dramatically change how you are perceived.

Taking Control of Your Voice

Women’s voices are not a weakness—they are a superpower. By recognizing biases, embracing vocal strengths, and refining techniques, women can command the room without compromising authenticity.

This Women’s History Month, we invite you to own your voice, embrace your power, and step into leadership with confidence. If you're ready to refine your executive presence, Peacock Voices offers private coaching to help you amplify your impact.

Schedule a free consultation today and take the next step in mastering your leadership voice.

Because your voice deserves to be heard—on your terms.