The Hidden Work of Keeping an Office Running
Sixty years ago, one of the most common professions for women in the U.S. was a secretary or typist. The evolution of American office culture, as well as the Industrial Revolution, created a massive amount of paperwork for offices to sort through. The secretary emerged as the person to get that work done. The job—which originally employed women as a cost-saving measure, since women could be paid much less—remains 96 percent female today and is still the most common job for American women.
The job has always required a specific skill set, but since the 1960s women in the profession have demanded more respect from their employers and are no longer lured to the profession by the promise that they may meet their future spouse at work.
Debra Leonard-Porch has been an administrative professional for over 35 years. She’s currently the office manager of Incapital Holdings in Chicago, and a long-time member of the International Association of Administrative Professionals. For The Atlantic’s series of interviews with American workers, I spoke with Leonard-Porch about how she became an administrative professional and why she remained in the job for all these years. The interview that follows has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
: What do you do for
