Channel 4 is #ChampioningWomensVoices exactly as they are this International Women’s Day

Watch here: Championing Women’s Voices | Channel 4

This International Women’s Day, Channel 4 will celebrate female voices in all their rich variety, by highlighting research showing that some women feel they need to take on a deeper tone of voice to project authority in the workplace.

On Wednesday 8 March, viewers will hear a Channel 4 female continuity announcer whose voice deepens halfway through speaking, before heightening in pitch again to emphasise the phenomenon. As part of the campaign, the channel will use #ChampioningWomensVoices across platforms to highlight the message that women should be heard exactly as they are.

The script will say: “Happy International Women’s Day. My voice may be soft, but I’m not. Research suggests people find women with lower voices more commanding. Some women even take on a deeper tone to project authority at work. Should we have to go low to get heard? Today, we’re championing women’s voices, as they are, in our collection on All 4.”

The clip will run throughout International Women’s Day on Channel 4 and All 4, starting ahead of Countdown at 6.10am until The Piano at 9pm. It will also point to All 4’s ‘Championing Women’s Voices’ collection, featuring a fantastic array of female-led shows such as Derry Girls, We are Lady Parts and Judi Love: Black, Female and Invisible. Six clips from various shows in the collection will be shared across social media throughout the day, representing women from all walks of life and celebrating the stories they have to tell.

Nic Moran, Head of Brand Campaigns and Pictures at Channel 4, said: “The #ChampioningWomensVoices campaign has been inspired by research revealing that some women take on a deeper tone of voice as it is thought to be more authoritative. Today, as every day, we stand in support of women, amplifying their voices in a wonderfully unique and typically Channel 4 way.”  

Channel 4 is renowned for championing women in its programming and for its progressive approach to women’s wellbeing at work. Its staff network 4Womxn was established to empower and support women and has been instrumental in implementing some of Channel 4’s most pioneering workplace policies.

On World Menopause Day 2019, it introduced the media industry’s first ever Menopause policy, aiming to support employees with menopausal symptoms and provide guidance for managers. This was followed by the world’s first Pregnancy Loss policy in 2021, which offers support to both men and women affected by pregnancy loss, and most recently, in November 2022 4Womxn spearheaded a partnership with women’s health company Hertility, offering free reproductive health and hormone testing to employees.