Charisma and women – an investigation of the acoustic-melodic profiles of business women in the light of gender bias

Abstract

Having a visionary idea alone is not enough to be a charismatic leader. Strong delivery has been shown to play an essential role in being perceived as charismatic. A great part of delivery is speaking with a voice that is persuasive and conveys enthusiasm and confidence. A large number of acoustic-melodic properties of charismatic voice have been identified for male speakers in both political and business contexts. The present study investigated the implementation of the key acoustic-melodic features of charismatic speech established for male speakers in prominent female business figures. A comparison was made between male speakers examined in previous work and female speakers included in the current study. It was found that most features present in charismatic male speakers are also applicable to charismatic female speakers, although charismatic women lower their F0 instead of raising it. It was also found that female speakers outperform similarly charismatic male speakers in employing emphatic accentuation and in minimising the use of hesitational signals. This may suggest a gender bias in charisma perception. That is, given identical behaviours, female speakers might be perceived as less charismatic than male speakers.