"It is not unusual to see men doing this type of work, but girls are preferred on routine jobs..."

[Bluebear]

http://www.archive.org/details/IWanttoB1941

1941 occupational film clip: "I want to be a secretary!"

Yeesh.

[spooky3]

1. unfortunately, while the language has changed,

many people still have these attitudes. Many jobs are still highly sex-segregated.

[CountAllVotes]

2. yeah so what is new

same job for the same group of people = women.

Could have been a nurse or a school teacher ... :puke:

Sad really.

Who really wants to be a secretary?

[Lisa0825]

3. Secretarial jobs are way more nowadays....

Most doctors, managers, and executives could not function without their secretaries. Many (now more often called "administrative assistants" after a few years of experience) even require a Associate's or Bachelor's Degree. Some of the administrative support staff I worked with at my last employer were paid in the high 40s to low 50s with degrees and experience and could work their way up to department administrator if they were ambitious enough and made smart moves.

[CountAllVotes]

5. no difference

just a new name (Admin. Asst. or "office assistant"). Same job, different year, same crap.

:puke: again ...

:dem:

[Lisa0825]

7. Fine, denigrate the prosessionals I know who work in clerical positions.

They have a high level of skills, experience, and most have degrees. They manage complicated schedules, deal with executives, and keep the business running. YOU may think they're "just a secretary," but I most certainly do not. It is a good line of work where one can still advance and earn a decent living, as well as acquiring transferable skills that can be used for a company in any industry. Being a secretary or admin assistant is nothing to sneer at.

[CountAllVotes]

9. did it ever occur to you

that I might have been a secretary/admin. asst. (etc.) for many years?

Could never get beyond the secretary label however no matter how many college degrees I managed to get (worked all day and went to school at night and on the weekends).

It is after all a man's world whether I or you like it or not. :(

I don't mean to denigrate anyone. This is *reality* for too many very smart women I happen to know.

:dem:

[Lisa0825]

10. You are so generally dismissive of women in administrative support roles,

The companies I have worked for have promoted secretaries through the ranks to department administrators, with the right amount of experience. That is the equivalent to department manager, or in a smaller business, business manager. Administrators manage staff, finance, HR, etc. Maybe your experience was bad, but with a good company, a basic clerical position nowadays can grow into a true career. Maybe I have just been lucky to work for companies/organizations that stress promoting from within, but my experience in the 20 years of my career is that I (first as a research assistant in medical research and now in HR) know plenty of people who have climbed through the admin support ranks faster and higher than either of my chosen paths could take me. It's not a dead end job if you are with a company that supports internal growth. It's dismissive to those women who do go this route to lump them all together in your negative stereotype.

[tammywammy]

12. I started as a receptionist at the company I work for

Then moved to accounts receivable and I'm the replacement for the controller in a couple of years.

People do move up from those starting positions.

[BlooInBloo]

11. A good measure of the worth of undergrad school (the majority of majors, at any rate).

[annabanana]

4. The biggest plus of being a secretary was the possibility of

"snagging" an up&comer master of the universe to-be for a hubby.

The whole environment was a jungle.

[CountAllVotes]

6. I failed miserably

didn't get that Prince to come and take me away to a world without worry, a world filled with love and lots of everything.

I failed as a secretary. :shrug:

[Solly Mack]

8. I knew of a personnel manager who liked women for the floor work

because "women don't mind the boring and tedious repetition" (of the job)..."they" (women) seemed to "settle in" better at "such work"

She (yes, she) wouldn't promote from within (floor was mostly women) because management demanded someone who could "adapt to change" instead of "settle in"..and that's why she was looking to hire a man..."men like a challenge"

Of course, if you never offer the opportunity...sigh

I still remember her name and this was 20 plus years ago. The way she smiled when she said it - like it was just so self-evident.