We need to advocate for the change and sometimes we may even need to provide the solution, explains Simone White
Inclusion. Leadership.
These words are synonymous with modern society as we become more aware of how the lack of them can negatively impact individuals and entire groups of people.
Organisations actively encourage their employees to engage in employee resource groups (ERGs), which support their employees’ inclusion. Many have created HR initiatives and bespoke training and crafted mission statements, all to elevate the experience of employees and fulfil their corporate social responsibility (CSR).
Many administrative professionals, both within organisations and independently, have actively taken up the challenge and joined, created, and led initiatives and networks to engage their population and to ensure that they, too, have a strong sense of community among their peers and the prospect of inclusion within their organisations.
A Lack of Understanding
While we have seen an increase in professional growth, personal development, and networking opportunities across this population due to these initiatives, there is still a lack of understanding in general from those outside the profession in terms of what the role is and what impact it has – and within some firms, there is a discrepancy in how they are viewed and treated in comparison to other employees.
This lack of understanding can impact their inclusion as a profession and fundamentally affects their lives as professionals in terms of salary, benefits, career development, and progression.
While many administrative professionals continue to elevate themselves via these networks, more is needed to change perceptions beyond the profession. To make progress and embed equitable inclusion, networks need to expand their mission and focus beyond education, resources, and connectivity opportunities to working together to change the environments that they work within, making tangible changes to the way they are viewed as a profession.
This requires action, leadership, and the ability to inspire others to join the movement, advocate alongside, and drive change.
How Can This Be Done?
It starts with truly understanding the meaning of Inclusion, Leadership, Advocacy, and Change and then taking action.
Inclusion
Definition:The action, state of including or of being included within a group or structure; the practice, policy of providing equal access to opportunities and resources for people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized. (Cambridge Dictionary)
As a profession, administrative professionals do not receive equal opportunity within organisations. They can be marginalised as a group due to a lack of understanding of the profession, which leaves it open to potentially being treated differently. In some firms they may not be included within group structures, or if they are, it is often segregated. Those within the profession may not consistently be provided the same opportunities as other employees. Too often, the profession may be viewed as resources, or overheads, and not talent that can and should be nurtured and grown.
Despite a concerted effort by some within the profession to highlight the value of administrative professionals and the breadth of skill and competency that exists within the population, there is still a gap in the lived experience they have day to day.
Many who feel and see the unfairness will speak with each other about how they are impacted. Speaking about it to each other without actively trying to change the system retains the status quo. Inclusion does not happen automatically, and inclusion without equity does not lead to equality.
As with any marginalised group, justice and change needs to firstly be started and led by those within the group, as they are the ones impacted.
Leadership
Definition:Leadership is about guiding and impacting outcomes, enabling groups of people to work together to accomplish what they couldn’t do working individually. (McKinsey)
Change requires leadership. Leadership involves more than authority; it’s about inspiring trust, making an impact, and fostering collaboration. Leaders have foresight to see the whole picture and work strategically for the benefit of the whole.
As leaders of networks focused on administration, understanding the whole picture is vital. While we work to eliminate gaps in education, connectivity, and recognition, importance must also be given to moving from being on the fringes to truly being included as a profession, in the same manner as other operational and business management functions.
This takes leadership, courage, and action to challenge the status quo and highlight the inequity of outcomes for a population who works alongside and is a foundational element of firms.
Advocate
Definition:A person who puts a case on someone else’s behalf; publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy. (Oxford Language)
If the perception of the profession is primarily that everyone does the same role and operates at one level – entry level – the profession will always be viewed as a resource and not as talent. This perception must be challenged, and metric data must be used to change it. Evidence of the impact we have in terms of managing time, scrutinising budgets, connecting teams, and managing events must be understood, as each of these things when not carried out by an administrative professional has its own merit, but often is diminished when performed by an Assistant.
Given the perceived status of the profession, work to change perceptions must be done with the active support of allies and advocates who have the power and influence to drive the change. Advocating for these changes requires decisive, collective action.
The Global Skills Matrix by World Administrators Alliance in collaboration with Lucy Brazier is an example of collective impactful action. The Matrix provides tangible guidance to remove an old system and build and expand a new one. This type of work is what is required, and as leaders, we need to champion and drive it.
Advancement cannot be done successfully if done in isolation. As with all change, it requires mass and movement. Those inside and outside the profession must work together to drive change.
Change
Definition:Make (someone or something) different; alter or modify; an act or process through which something becomes different. (Oxford Language)
Leaders are, by definition, changemakers. When called to lead, you are called to advance, move forward, and improve the situation.
For this work to truly have an impact – so that administration is actively embedded into organisations and so that the systems that have often kept it excluded no longer exist – effort needs to be made to engage the population and build up its confidence and competence. Leadership is also needed to drive change and break down existing barriers and replace them. Changemakers of the past can be a source of inspiration.
Women have a place in society today because they fiercely advocated for and drove the change, not only as individuals but collectively. Simply being visible was not sufficient. They worked alongside advocates who understood that the status quo was imbalanced, provided the solutions, and showed the benefits of such inclusion.
Within administration, immortalised in a film and a hit song (“Still Working 9-5”), a group of secretaries demoralised by the status quo in the 1970s formed an association of women office workers to impact change. Their low wages, lack of benefits, and the lack of respect shown to them made them take decisive action to remove the systemic barriers that were viewed as normal. They did this despite ridicule, worked courageously, and supported each other. Their actions still benefit administrative professionals today, as well as female office workers.
Call to Action
We can only achieve progress with awareness, advocacy, and advancement.
As leaders within administration, our ability to inspire, lead, advocate, and drive change is part of the responsibility we have. This is what leads to our active, equitable inclusion. Our profession will not fully benefit from our efforts if we solely focus on levelling up our population and providing accolades among ourselves – it keeps us siloed and excluded.
Our profession requires all of us to play our part in advocating change. Individually, we need to be more aware of the impact of our lack of inclusion. For meaningful change to happen, the majority within the profession must view change as necessary and actively support the drive for it. Staying silent or only talking about it within our own administrative circles will not change outcomes or the current status quo. Silence may make it worse.
Those leading in the administrative space, forging pathways for connectivity, education, and recognition in the community, need to keep striving forward and expanding our focus to impact tangible, progressive change, and remove the systems that have historically kept the administrative profession in the role of resource. We need to work together as one profession, one voice, heading in the same direction.
Our actions can impact change. Organisations are beginning to listen to our voices and take positive action to increase the inclusion of our profession, but we need to advocate for the change and sometimes we may even need to provide the solution.
Former president Barack Obama once said, “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.”
Let us show that commitment, inspire inclusion, and drive change for our profession as leaders.
