Administrative Professionals Week History

Formerly called Professional Secretaries Week, Administrative Professionals Week is a tradition of honoring administrative professionals during the last full week of April.

Professional Secretaries Week was started in an effort to recognize secretaries for their contributions to the workplace, and to attract young people to secretarial careers. The idea began with Mary Barrett, president of the then National Secretaries Association (now International Association of Administrative Professionals), along with public relations consultant Harry Klemfuss, and Dictaphone Corporation president C. King Woodbridge. Secretary of Commerce Charles Sawyer proclaimed the first National Secretaries Week June 1 through June 7, 1952, with Wednesday, June 4, as Secretaries Day. The date was changed in 1955 to the last full week in April.



Over the years, Administrative Professionals Week has become one of the largest workplace observances. The event is celebrated worldwide, bringing together millions of people for observances ranging from community luncheons and educational seminars, to individual bosses recognizing their support staff with gifts of appreciation.



Source: International Association of Administrative Professionals