Abstract: In the first large-scale study on voice, audio data on lawyers at the top U.S. law firms–a male dominated work environment–show that female lawyers alternate between two voice frequency modes: a primary female mode at about 200 Hz as well as a secondary female mode at about 100 Hz that is coextensive with the primary (and only) male voice frequency mode. This tendency is stronger among female associates than among female partners, and does not replicate for male lawyers or female assistants. Evidence of differences driven by firm heterogeneity is comparatively insignificant, indicating market-wide trends in workplace behavior.
Keywords: labor markets; gender identity; social norms; codeswitching; voice frequency
JEL Classification: D91; J16; J44; M14; Z10