Next week, April 20-26, 2025 is Administrative Professionals Week. It’s an annual event the last week in April, with Administrative Professionals Day in the middle. This year it falls on Wednesday, April 23.

Official celebrations for office warriors began in 1942 when the National Secretaries Association was founded. The nation was gearing up for World War II, and office workers were in short supply. The association hoped to attract more white female workers into office work.

The preponderance of women in the office began in the late 19th century as office machines became the norm. According to the 1888 Manual of the Typewriter, “The typewriter is especially adapted to feminine fingers. They seem to be made for typewriting. The typewriting involves no hard labor and no more skill than playing the piano.”

[Note the illustration on the right. The typewriter looks nothing like a piano.]

The federal government hired women during the civil war, because there weren’t enough men available to clip treasury bills. I don’t know what “clipping” treasury bills entailed, but it doesn’t sound too difficult. The government soon discovered a large pool of qualified women who could be paid a lower salary than men doing the same job. In 1866, federal law set the maximum annual salary for women at $900, while men were paid between $1200 and $1800. As then Librarian of Congress A. R. Spofford noted, women “could give good service for less pay than men on his staff, thus resulting in economy.”

Enter New Office Equipment

Just in time for the 1890 census a new office machine appeared. Herman Hollerith introduced his punched card processing equipment in 1889. The Census Bureau acquired the machines and subdivided the operations. Male employees complained about the pace of work and difficulty of using the machines. They often quit after their first day on the job. But, according the New York Sun women worked faster and had a more exact touch. Soon 80 percent of the census computers were female.

Women, it appeared, were also more adept at both stenography and typing. Their ability to do routine tasks made women ideal for repetitive work. Women’s jobs did not lead to upward mobility, and the pay was low. Marriage bars were also common. A woman was expected to leave paid employment when she married. Thus she would not be in the work force long enough to seek promotion to a better paying position.

From the officer worker’s perspective, there were advantages to office work. At a time when women’s other professional employment options were teaching and nursing, office work provided a third alternative. Young women seeking office careers stayed in school longer and the salary was attractive compared to other opportunities for women with a high school education. A file clerk making $12 a week could aspire to run the office with a salary of $80 a week.

And, of course, there was the scarce position of “Private Secretary.” For the employer, having a private secretary was a sign of status. Being a private secretary was equally prestigious.

From 1952 to 1957 Ann Sothern starred in Private Secretary, an early television sit-com about a secretary who helped her boss succeed. The character’s backstory was as a single woman and WAC veteran of World War II. Her office was state of the art with IBM typewriters and telephone gear from Western Electric. In short, she was the perfect office wife.

The more recent period drama Mad Men set in a 1960s advertising agency depicted a time of transition, if not change. Character Joan Harris, for example, ran the office at the Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency. The element of change occurred in Peggy Olson’s story as she rose from typist to copy writer.

Times change. So does equipment. Office workers are as likely to be men as women. But the necessity of having people in the office who understand the filing system, can keep up with daily details, and a myriad of other seemingly small tasks doesn’t change. Office workers keep the organization running smoothly.

Say ‘Thank You,’ &

Celebrate Administrative Professionals Every Day

Sandra’s Books: Sea Tigers & Merchants. Ambition, Arrogance & Pride. Saxon Heroines. Two Coins. Rama’s Labyrinth.

Illustrations & A Few Sources

Victory Waits on Your Fingers, 1941; Jewett Typewriter, 1902; Typist Examines Ribbon, 1918; Ann Sothern as Susie McNamara, 1954; Busy Office Lady. Mary C Brinton. “Gendered Offices: A Comparative-Historical Examination of Clerical Work in Japan and the United States.” Sharon Hartman Strom. “Light Manufacturing: The Feminization of American Office Work 1900-1930.” Industrial & Labor Relations Review. Vol. 43. No. 1. 53-71.

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Once upon a time, perhaps around 1955, there were four career paths for women. In alphabetical order women could become nurses, secretaries, teachers, or wives. Wives, of course, didn’t work. [Note the fictional aspect here. Of course wives worked, and there were lots of jobs done by women. But technically a job isn’t a career. And now back to the story.]

Nursing and Teaching required a more extensive education beyond high school. So girls who weren’t going to go to college after high school generally drifted towards secretarial work. They could get a jump on their qualifications by taking vocational courses in Touch Typing and Gregg shorthand in high school. [When I was in high school, students in Vocational Education spent their afternoons in job training, a topic of envious conversation among students on the college track.]

The pinnacle of the secretarial profession was the position of Private Secretary, the woman who often had the luxury of only one boss to please, and clerical workers to handle reception and filing. Ann Sothern starred in Private Secretary, a television program that ran from 1953 to 1957. The program focussed on a private secretary devoted to her boss, a handsome talent agent. She, of course, really ran the show. The opening sequence gives a good idea of how most people thought secretaries looked – a well-groomed but not glamorous woman who usually wore glasses. [You get the idea from the opening sequence in this short video, but there’s no reason to watch the credits. LOL.]

SECRETARY’S DAY IS BORN

In 1952 Harry F. Klemfuss, an advertising executive, in conjunction with the U. S. Department of Commerce, created National Secretary’s Week and designated National Secretary’s Day that Wednesday. Klemfuss wanted to emphasize the glamor of a secretarial career. Employers expressed their full appreciation for the way secretaries kept their lives on track by taking the women for a nice lunch and giving them flowers. While recognition is always welcome, one day out of the year doesn’t seem like much.

If you watched Mad Men, you have a good idea of what being a secretary was like in 1962. In this clip, Joan shows Peggy around on her first day. Both women later clawed their way into executive positions, an option not generally open in the 1950s. Cultural expectations still perceived secretaries as women and executives, men. Many thought secretaries slept with executives in order to get ahead, a concept Mad Men writers bought into.

ARE THINGS DIFFERENT IN THE 21st CENTURY?

No one takes shorthand or dictates letters. That’s all done on personal computers or smart phones. No one types. Did you notice the IBM Selectric typewriter in the Mad Men clip?  That was state-of-the-art technology in 1962. Sleek, requiring only a soft touch, and able to switch fonts via interchangeable font elements.

In the 21st century executives are expected to keep their own appointment calendars, and write their own texts and letters. They don’t have secretaries. They employ Administrative Professionals to keep their calendars straight and make sure documents are created and filed appropriately. And once a year they celebrate Administrative Professionals’ Week, with an Administrative Professionals’ Day that Wednesday. They still go out to lunch.

DO WE NEED AN ADMINISTRATIVE PROFESSIONALS’ DAY?

Administrative Professionals’ Day is somewhat controversial. Those who favor the recognition argue that others don’t realize how much Administrative Professionals do for the team, especially since one individual provides clerical support for several team members. On the other hand, the day points out the difference between support staff and those they facilitate.

PERSONAL ASSISTANTS – THE NEW PROFESSIONALS

Personal Assistants, usually referred to as PAs, are new on the administrative scene. A PA may be male or female, though presently females dominate the profession. The PA’s job is to relieve their employers of the mundane, stressful aspects of their professional and/or private lives. “Personal Assistant” is a middle-management position. The Assistant may have her own projects as well as managing those of her boss. She also takes care of travel arrangements, scheduling meetings — anything and everything her boss might need, including running errands.

Sounds to me like what Secretaries used to do.

In the workplace as in life, we all deserve recognition for our contributions. Whether your office has a clerk, secretary, administrative professional, or personal assistant, say thank you. Say it every day, not just this week. If you’re a one-person office, congratulate yourself on a job well done.

Illustrations from Wikimedia Commons.
IBM Selectric typewriter. Public Domain.

Naval personnel assisting with base passes. Naval Station, Everett, Wash. Public Domain.

The Secretary is Dead. Long Live the PA. Onrec. Jan. 17, 2005.

Alison Green. It’s Time to End Secretaries Day. U.S. News. April 20, 2015.

Personal Assistant Duties. Personal-Assistant-Tips.com

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With a child’s lack of inhibition, Dorie laughed, and said he wasn’t a good artist, but she’d still hang his picture in her room. Dorie’s uncle and other soldiers on the ward began holding bird drawing contests whenever Dorie visited. (More details at the official Draw a Bird Day website http://www.dabday.com) Go to http://mimshouse.com/draw-a-bird-day-2014/ for info on how start drawing birds.

Here’s my bird. If it makes you laugh, mission accomplished.

For better looking birds, check out the Darcy’s Draw a Bird Day Pinterest Board (http://www.pinterest.com/darcypattison/draw-a-bird-day-april-8/)

Turns out, there’s a celebration every day during the month of April, most of which are listed at holidayinsights.com. These are the ones that caught my eye.

Today, April 7, is  – Drum Roll Please – NO HOUSEWORK DAY. If only I’d known before I did the breakfast dishes. Note: It’s not “No Work Day” or “Go to the Beach Day.”  It just means that for one day, you don’t have to push a broom or throw in 6 loads of laundry.

Tomorrow, April 8 – Frame your drawings for Draw a Bird Day

April 11 is Barbershop Quartet Day. And it’s Friday night. So, obviously you’ll want to find a barbershop quartet and hoist a few adult beverages. On this day in 1938 the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America was founded in Tulsa, OK. Clearly the founders didn’t anticipate Twitter’s 140 character restriction. (More info at http://barbershop.org/home.html)

What!? You’ve never heard of Barbershop Quartets. Then check out the Oh Susanna-Masterpiece (2013 International Quartet Competition). The singing’s on pitch and the guys are good looking. (http://youtu.be/rVUSK7tPDbA)

Just the thing to take your mind of Tax Day (April 15th) and ease the strain of National Stress Awareness Day (April 16th). It should come as no surprise that April 17th is National Cheeseball Day. I feel a bit like a cheeseball myself after sending off my tax returns.

After all that cheese, you might need a change of pace. Good thing there’s National Garlic Day on April 19th. Ah, Garlic, the “Stinking Rose.” It may not be good for romance, but it’s excellent for fighting colds and flu – not to mention warding off vampires. Maybe that’s part of the secret – less kissing means less contagion. More about the benefits of garlic at Medical News Today (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265853.php)

If you haven’t already, circled April 23 – Administrative Professionals Day, better do it now. Woe to anyone who doesn’t acknowledge the people who keep the office humming. Once called Secretary’s Day, the name change reflects the changing roles of white-collar professionals. They do more than you think.

And if there are any children in your life, pay attention to April 24^th – Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work. Let them see what you do all day at the office. My father was an engineer. For years, I thought he drove trains. If he’d ever taken me to work with him, I’d have known better. Who knows, I might have paid more attention in math class. Seriously, kids need to know how school and work intersect. More ideas at www.daughtersandsonstowork.org/wmspage7d10.html?parm1=936.

Well, that’s our sampling April holidays. Make every day a celebration.

Advance Tip: If you like to decorate for Easter/Spring – it’s time to get out the bunnies & dye the eggs. More next week.

Featured Image: Robin, published by Ward, Lock & Tyler, 1869, US Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons

Darcy Pattison’s web page at http://www.darcypattison.com 

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