If this week has taught us anything, it is that too many executives are still making decisions about assistants with no real understanding of the role.
It spoke volumes to me that the Financial Times article about Grant Thornton, still referred to them as ‘secretaries’. The titles at Grant Thornton are PA and EA. The ‘secretary’ title began disappearing in the UK more than 30 years ago, and yet here we are in 2025, still clinging to language that reduces a strategic role to a stereotype. Words matter. They shape perception. If you keep calling people secretaries, you will keep treating them like secretaries. And perception is precisely what keeps this profession undervalued
Even the PA and EA titles are being seen in some quarters as outdated. Because the reality for assistants is part of a far bigger picture.
Administration represents a fifth of the global working population. That’s over half a billion people. Yet for this vast workforce, there is still no formal seat at the table. Imagine the shift in perception if every major company had a Director of Administration on the board, advocating for how this population drives productivity, profitability, and leadership effectiveness.
And some companies are beginning to get it. They are moving away from outdated labels and adopting titles that reflect contribution. Administrative Business Partner. Administrative Business Coordinator. Director of Administration. They understand that this isn’t about “helping” or “assisting.” It’s about maximising executive performance, safeguarding relationships, and providing strategic continuity no outsourcing contract or AI tool can replicate.
Here’s the thing. Executives would never dream of making financial decisions without a CFO, or technology decisions without a CIO. Yet they continue to make decisions about administration – the very infrastructure that keeps leadership effective – without any informed voice in the room.
Until leaders stop treating administration as “help” and start recognising it as a strategic function, they will keep making short-sighted decisions that cost far more than they save.
It’s time to start recognising Administration as a function in its own right.
