> some women want to sound authoritative

Maggie Hatchett lowered her voice pitch to better dominate her cabinet, but she had speech coaching; the result was a gentle but menacing purr. Conversely (and perversely), many singing instructors will attempt to adjust their female tutees' pitch upwards, even if they're natural contraltos, presumedly under the delusion that sopranos earn more; in practice, I find some sopranos' singing beautiful but illegible.