It turns out that men with deeper voices are not only sexier, but better leaders as well.

A new study published in the Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior shows that men with deeper voices are seen as better leaders, as voters are more likely to back candidates with lower voices, thus suggesting perceptions formed by our ancestors still hold true today.

Researchers in the study manipulated archive records of US presidents and created lower and higher pitched versions of each voice. They played the recordings for test subjects and asked them to rate their perceptions of the speakers’ attractiveness, leadership potential, honesty, intelligence and dominance.

The subjects were also asked which version of the voice they would prefer to vote for, both in peacetime and wartime. Lower voice pitch was more strongly associated with physical prowess than with integrity in a wartime voting scenario. Thus, sensitivity to vocal cues to dominance was heightened during wartime.

In all cases, test subjects gravitated to and preferred candidates with lower-pitched voices. The study found that lower-pitched voices were associated with favorable personality traits more often than were higher-pitched voices and that people preferred to vote for politicians with lower-pitched rather than higher-pitched voices.

Throughout history, men with low-pitched voices were considered to be more attractive and dominant. Apparently, this belief continues to hold true today. This new research shows that this very perception of dominance also has a greater influence on voting decisions.

One can only assume that this theory holds true for all leadership roles.

How deep is your boss’ voice?