Administrative Professionals' Day: Nice acknowledgement or demeaning?

[Coventina]

I work in a department that has a shared secretary. So, there's one of her for 9 of us.

I've never been in a position where I've ever "had" a secretary before, and, I'll admit, the first two times the "holiday" has come and gone I did nothing.

But, this year I was thinking I would like to do something, but I read on the internets that some people think it's sexist and degrading.

What to you Loungers think?

It's coming up on April 26th.

When I was a secretary, (I was a secretary/receptionist for 5 years) I always liked it, but I would never want to offend anyone.

[Sanity Claws]

1. Administrative Professionals can be any sex so it's not inherently sexist, IMO

However, the types of gifts given to female admin professionals can be sexist.

Frankly, I think days like this are just something created by commercial interests to get people to buy things.

[Fla Dem]

2. I would agree it's a commercial enterprise.

Back when I was working in a fairly large company, the "Admin Assist" pretty much expected some acknowledgment on "Secretary's Day". I think the most we did was flowers, a card and possibly lunch. Never any real gift. Don't know what the atmosphere is out there right now, so can't really help

[elleng]

3. I think the people who think it's sexist and demeaning should get their heads into the SUNLIGHT.

[Floyd R. Turbo]

4. I typically knew what my Secretaries/AAs liked and rewarded them accordingly.

Interestingly several of them enjoyed having the day off!

[irisblue]

5. the 9 of you take her & the beloved to a very nice place for dinner. NT

[benld74]

6. We have NO admin position now, as we do timecards, travel, telephones admined through servers etc

but when I began back in the late 70's

We had 1 for 20+
New Job
1 for 30+
2 for 40+

And we went out for lunch and pitched in for gift, usually gift cards to places they enjoyed going
NEVER get on an admin's bad side, stay on their good side

[Laffy Kat]

7. I was a secretary for twenty years.

The "Secretary Day" always made me uncomfortable. Lunches, awkward conversation, none of us wanted to be there. A bonus or movie tickets or anything else would have been more appreciated.