I’m super thankful for my administrative assistant. Without her, I’d fall apart.
I’m thankful for teachers. Without them, I’d have never gotten to where I am today.
I’m thankful for nurses. Without them, our healthcare would be rotten.
These three professions have national days that we celebrate. And do you know what they all have in common?
- They are all predominantly female (93.9 for administrative assistants, 89 percent for nurses, and 74.3 percent for teachers).
- They all deserve higher salaries.
- They are service-oriented jobs.
We all appreciate the work these people (almost all women) do, so we have a day to recognize them! Yay! We bring in flowers for the admins. We ask all the parents to contribute to a brunch for the teachers! (Which they may or may not get to eat, depending on who has playground duty.) The nurse managers buy donuts for the nurses, but only for the day shift. Oops, I forgot about the people who keep patients alive at night!
While there is a national hug-a-plumber day and a national finance awareness day, we don’t bring donuts or actually hug our plumbers. (At least, I’ve never hugged my plumber, although I thought about it when he fixed my sink problem for under $100, including parts.) We reward them with cold, hard cash.
See, we don’t feel guilty about how much pressure our accountants are under. (Although I do feel mildly guilty because I procrastinate on my tax documents, but he charges me rush fees as he well should.) We just pay them properly.
So, if you’re thinking of buying your administrative assistant flowers today, go ahead, but take a look at her (and it’s almost always her) salary and give it a bump. That is precisely what I did this week. While, unless you’re a school or hospital administrator, you can’t directly control your nurses’ and teachers’ salaries, you can vote for school boards that reward teachers rather than administrators. You can make your voice heard when we discuss healthcare.
Don’t say, “Hey, I’m a good person because I CARE about these women that make the world run.” Show it with your vote and your wallet.
Image by waldryano from Pixabay
Yes, yes, yes!! Well said.
I totally agree. On the news this morning, they were talking about a new study that shows that the pay gap between men and women in America is widening, possibly because of COVID and the disruptions the pandemic caused in schooling and child care facilities. Admins, nurses and teachers make the World go round, and most of us value them, in our hearts at least. But, we definitely need to put our money where our mouths are, and work to get them — and all women — better, and more equitably, compensated.
As a male administrative assistant, I am not going t complain that my boss (female) brought bagels this morning! Also, I am sure she would give us raises if she could but we work for a major state university and there is only so much that she can do.
Now, if there was a national hug your chiropractor day I would hug mine (male) because my neck and upper back feel much better because of him and I sleep better too! Heck, I would probably hug my electrician too because living in the dark isn’t fun.
And if you are going to do something for Administrative Professionals Day, for the love of all that is good, do not have your Admin order her own flowers, coordinate her own luncheon, and buy her own gifts. I worked for a place that did that and those gals couldn’t contain their disgust. I don’t blame them.
I remember being an admin and having a box of roses given to me with the orders to “give one to each of the gals, admin or not, and keep one for yourself.” That demonstrates sexism and how much the company doesn’t really care all in one fell swoop. Ignoring admin day would be better all around.
That is sickening! I also bet the women had to clean up afterward. The last place I worked did something similar. I work at a big state university. The poor events coordinator had to order everything, set up, and clean up, even for the “staff appreciation lunch”.
Any well-appreciated employee should be financially compensated in their salary paycheck, as best as possible as an acknowledgment of their daily performance. Just like celebrating a birthday doesn’t always need a special celebration on the day, employees need to feel appreciated by their employers every day and also given honest feedback.