I was listening to a well-known, very popular male podcaster a few months ago and he put me over the edge when he said something like this (I'm paraphrasing):

"Some people tell me I should have more diverse guests - women and people of color - but I don't think that should be a criteria for who I invite. I want the best person on a given topic no matter their gender or race."

And at that moment, I hit stop, unsubscribed, and deleted his show from my podcast app. 🤯​ 

(You'll hear who it was and more in this episode.)

I do have to thank him for partly inspiring the #ChoosingWomensVoices challenge we're running this month to raise our awareness of the voices we listen to (and read), from podcasts and books to movies, tv, and news to our specific industry.

How many are women? Is there diversity within those women's voices? Are there women podcasters/authors/experts you can find to augment (or replace) the male voices?

You may be wondering: why does it matter if the content I listen to or read is from a woman or a man?

That’s what we’re talking about on the podcast as well as during the challenge.

In this episode, Diane Diaz and I talk about:

• What’s just as important as visibility is our actual voices as women and what we’re saying: “If you can see it *and* hear it, you can be it.”
• Although there are more women in higher-profile positions than ever, we're still hitting that glass ceiling. Why is that? There are many factors, but one is literally the voices we hear.
• The history of women being shamed, ridiculed, threatened, even harmed and killed for speaking up.
• This continues even today: GamerGate, harassment on social media, women in politics.
• Women’s actual voices are criticized as being shrill, nagging, whining, too angry, too emotional or not emotional enough.
• The positive impact that collective women’s voices can have, as we've seen in movements like Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and #TimesUp. 
• What we can do about it by being more intentional with the voices we choose.
• Unsilencing ourselves and developing the confidence to do so.

Join the Challenge!

To sign up for our #ChoosingWomensVoices challenge, go to https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/challenge or text the word SPEAKING to 33-777.

During the challenge, you'll receive an email prompt each day for 7 days with a short activity, along with recommendations.

We'll also be asking you to share the women's voices you've found during the challenge.

You can start the challenge any time - we’ll be repeating the 7 days each week in March.

About Us: The Speaking Your Brand podcast is hosted by Carol Cox, joined in this episode by Diane Diaz, one of our speaking coaches. At Speaking Your Brand, we help women entrepreneurs and professionals create their signature talks and gain more visibility to achieve their goals. Our mission is to get more women in positions of influence and power: on stages, in businesses, on boards, in the media, in politics, and in our communities. Check out our coaching programs at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com. 

Links:

Show notes at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/162

Sign up for our 7-day challenge #ChoosingWomensVoices at https://www.speakingyourbrand.com/challenge or text the word SPEAKING to 33-777.

Connect on social media:

• LinkedIn = https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolcox
• Instagram = https://www.instagram.com/carolmorgancox 
• Twitter = https://www.twitter.com/carolmorgancox 
• Diane Diaz = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dianediaz 

Related Podcast Episodes:

• Episode 92: Deconstructing My TEDx Talk: Why We’re Uncomfortable with Women in Power
• Episode 94: Speaking and Showing Up Powerfully as Women
• Episode 97: Thinking Bigger: I Get Coached On-Air by Geraldine Carter