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The Personal Assistant: A Profession Led by Women

Published on: 3 Mar 2020

International Women's Day 2020

This Sunday (8th March) is International Women’s Day, a day which celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women all over the world, whilst also advocating for the acceleration of gender equality.

As the UK’s leading specialist job board for PAs, EAs, secretaries and other office support professionals, SecsintheCity is at the forefront of a profession led by women. We recognise the dedication, hard work and commitment of these professionals, and the high calibre nature of our audience reflects this.

In a survey of 4,000 office support professionals conducted by SecsintheCity in Autumn 2019, 78% stated that they have over 6 years’ experience, whilst 23% are over 20 years into their careers. Our audience are experienced and are reaping the rewards, with nearly all job titles experiencing a year-on-year increase in salary. In addition, the number of respondents receiving benefits has risen by 16% since 2018, now offered to 67% of our audience.

However, amidst this fortune, a key discovery in our upcoming Audience Insight Report is the continued rise of the multi-boss role, with 51% of our audience now supporting 4 people or more. Despite their extra effort, multi-boss professionals take home a salary of around £4,000 less than their single-support colleagues.

In a trend which continues to develop, employers are asking more of their assistants than they are willing to compensate.

Do you feel like you support more people than you’re being compensated for? Do you go the extra mile in your role? Or perhaps you know a particularly hardworking PA, EA or Office Manager who deserves recognition.

 

In the spirit of International Women’s Day, we believe that celebrating the hard work and dedication of the women leading the office support profession is paramount.  

Next month is the launch of the nominations for SecsintheCity’s PA of the Year Awards 2020, which are now entering their ninth year. The awards were created to champion the profession and acknowledge the amazing contributions that PAs, EAs and Office Managers make to the organisations they work for.

The awards have four categories; PA of the Year, Legal PA of the Year, Office Manager of the Year and the Outstanding Achievement Award. Find out more about what the night involves in the post-event review of the 2019 PA of the Year Awards.

If you or someone you know could be a winner at the next PA of the Year Awards, stay tuned to our blog for the launch of nominations in April.