They haven’t vanished, those fabled secretaries of long ago who were great typists, stenographers, gatekeepers, furniture arrangers, coffee makers and harborers of their boss’ secrets. But their numbers have been steadily decreasing, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In 1997, 3.03 million people worked as secretaries, versus 3.16 million in 1996 and 3.36 million in 1995. They are overwhelmingly female–only 1.4 percent are men, according to the bureau.
The decline seems to have bottomed out, however. The number of secretaries is expected to increase by the year 2006 because two industries–medical and legal–are not showing the same decline and their expansion eventually will override the other losses, explained Paul LaPorte, an economist with the bureau’s Chicago office.
But as the numbers move slowly down and up, more significant changes are afoot.
Due to technological innovations and downsizing, the secretaries’ roles, skills, titles and self-esteem have been altered and expanded. In many cases they’re viewed more as integral members of a team rather than as underlings in the hierarchy. Along the way, most stopped bringing the boss coffee–only 7 percent say that’s part of their jobs.
Yet, their salaries have inched up only slowly, barely reflecting the greater workload. The introduction of computers and software programs into offices helped to increase a secretary’s productivity, allowing more to take on assignments they never dreamed they’d handle, such as sending e-mail, doing research on the Internet and setting up and managing Web sites. Computer skills, especially facility in such programs as Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Lotus Notes, have become critical in the same way that typing 50 words per minute used to be.
The second catalyst, downsizing, removed layers of management. Secretaries often did the work–changing job duties and advancing in the company.
Not surprisingly, many of these corporate right-arms prefer a different title than secretary, defined by the dictionary as someone who keeps records and handles correspondence. They think a title that better reflects their enhanced responsibilities is one of the following: administrative assistant, executive assistant, corporate assistant, executive secretary, office manager, supervisor, professional organizer.
Two of the industry’s most important organizations are considering, or already have altered their names because of these changes. Professional Secretaries International (PSI)–the Association for Office Professionals in Kansas City, Mo., will decide this summer whether to rename the association the International Association of Administrative Professionals. PSI has 700 chapters (five in greater Chicago), 40,000 members and offers a professional certification rating.
The National Association of Secretarial Services, based in Yorba Linda, Calif., and composed of 970 members who primarily work from home, recently renamed itself the Association of Business Support Services International.
Also as a result of the changes, the typical secretary of today works for more than one boss. Case in point: Christi Pecenco, 23, who serves as an administrative assistant for the investor relations team at Edelman Public Relations Worldwide in Chicago. The team consists of a vice president, a senior account executive and an account executive. Her training included one year at a business school after high school and two years of work for a company in New York before signing on at Edelman.
But Pecenco symbolizes a more fundamental change. She sought out this position rather than settling for it as a second choice and she has aspirations to advance. “I always wanted to be a secretary since I was young. I liked the idea of the work and responsibility. I have no interest in writing copy, though I wouldn’t mind managing an office,” says Pecenco, an active member of the Chicago-Lakeshore chapter of PSI.
The one facet of a secretary’s life that still needs major tinkering is pay, according to many.
The average median weekly salary moved up to $410 in 1997 or $21,320 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. A year before it was $406; in 1995 it was $396. Perhaps more discouraging is that only 39.3 percent of those with greater workloads say their salaries have increased, according to PSI.
The gap between low- and high-skilled secretarial jobs is also expected to continue to widen, says Joel P. Bowman, interim chairman of the Western Michigan University Department of Business Information Systems in Kalamazoo.
In the future, more secretaries may begin to take charge of their salaries and job parameters. They may contract out their services on their own or through a centralized network to businesses that outsource such work.
Members of Business Support Services already work this way, typically charging $20 to $30 an hour for straight word processing and $30 to $35 for desktop publishing.
Stacy Brice of Baltimore recognized this growing need and set up Virtual Assistance 18 months ago. After providing 16 weeks of training to recruits who pay $800 for group sessions or $1,600 for individual coaching, Brice has her “VAs” contract their services through a centralized registry.
