Recent research* at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business shows the earning power of male chief executive officers: those with deeper voices tend to manage larger companies, make more money and be retained longer.
Speech samples were taken from 792 CEOs of Standard and Poor's 1500 companies and analyzed for vocal pitch. Results show CEOs with lower voices manage larger companies and, in turn, make more money. Specifically, the analysis found a decrease in voice pitch of just 22.1 Hertz (Hz) meant an increase in firm size of $440 million, which translated into higher compensation of $187,000 a year. Male CEOs with lower voices are also retained longer by companies. The analysis found the same 22.1 Hz decrease in pitch meant a CEO's tenure would be about 151 days longer.
*Fuqua professors Bill Mayew and Mohan Venkatachalam, along with Christopher Parsons of the University of California at San Diego, describe their findings in the article "Voice Pitch and the Labor Market: Success of Male Chief Executive Officers," published online in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.