24 Mar Women’s History Month: How Women Shaped the Administrative Professionals Industry
Ann Albrecht Consulting is a proud woman-owned business that supports workers in a woman-led industry. This Women’s History Month we look back at how women have shaped the administrative profession.
Dating back to at least the 15th century, secretaries and clerks were traditionally men who served nobility in a variety of roles, including managing the household and advising on political and personal matters. Today, you can still see this use of the word “secretary” in political positions such as Secretary of State.
Women Get Involved
With the industrial revolution, these clerical roles became common in the world of business, with the positions still held mostly by men. Over time, typing jobs began to be seen as respectable options for educated middle class women, but a dramatic shift happened in the 1940s, when women took office jobs left by the men fighting in World War II. In the booming post-war economy, the rising demand for clerical workers could not be filled by men alone, so the female workforce increased.
In 1942, the National Secretaries Association (now the International Association of Administrative Professionals, or IAAP) was founded to support women in the burgeoning administrative field. Professional associations and secretarial schools offered training in clerical skills like shorthand dictation. This opened many new doors for women, especially for young women, to support themselves financially.
The Fight for Rights
These rapidly growing jobs for women, such as secretary and phone line operator, were of course plagued by misogynistic attitudes of the time. Women were often expected to leave their jobs after getting married or having children. In this vein, many men treated the typing pool as a dating pool, and sexual harassment ran rampant. Additionally, opportunities for advancement were rare and these roles were severely undervalued, both culturally and financially.
The 1970s and 80s saw the next major shift in the industry. Feminist activists like Gloria Steinem and advocacy groups like 9to5 (the inspiration for the film of the same name) drew attention to the mistreated women running offices across the country. With almost 4 million women working in administrative positions, they became a powerful voice in the workers’ rights movement. It may have been an uphill battle, but these women fought to ensure fair wages and protections against workplace harassment, making vital changes to the lives of millions of workers, both men and women.
Today
Today we use the term administrative professional, which avoids the negative gendered connotations that the word secretary has taken on and better encompasses the wide range of responsibilities the field now covers. Administrative work may look quite different in today’s modern economy than it did back in the days of switchboard operators, but the core function of the jobs remains much the same: administrative staff support a business in its daily operations, from managing communications to coordinating schedules to tracking budgets. Administrative jobs are still the 3rd most common job for women in America (after nurses and teachers), with as many as 20 million women currently working in administrative roles.
This Women’s History Month, we at Ann Albrecht Consulting are proud to walk in the footsteps of the women who blazed a trail for work in the administrative profession and beyond.
To learn more about how a fractional administrative assistant can help you and your business, contact us for a consultation today.