Holidays: Administrative Professionals Day in United States

Administrative Professionals Day in United States

Quick Facts

Administrative Professionals Day® is on the Wednesday of the last full week of April. It remembers the important role of administrative professionals.

Local names

Name	Language
Administrative Professionals Day	English
Día de las Profesiones Administrativas	Spanish

Administrative Professionals Day 2009

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Administrative Professionals Day 2010

Wednesday, April 21, 2010
See list of observations below

Administrative Professionals Day® highlights the important role of administrative professionals in all sectors of the modern economy worldwide. It is on the Wednesday of Administrative Professionals Week®, which is on the last full week of April.

Administrative Professionals Day celebrates the role of administrative professionals worldwide. ©iStockphoto.com/ Jeffrey Corneilson

What do people do?

Administrative Professionals Day and Administrative Professionals Week are widely observed in many workplaces in the United States and other countries around the world. Many employers and supervisors arrange events to show their appreciation of the work carried out by administrative professionals, to highlight their importance to the organization and to enhance their work-related skills.

Public life

Administrative Professionals Day is an observance but it is not a public holiday in the United States.

Background

During World War II, there was an increased need for skilled administrative personnel, particularly in the United States. The National Secretaries Association was formed to recognize the contributions of secretaries and other administrative personnel to the economy, to support their personal development and to help attract people to administrative careers in the field. The association's name was changed to Professional Secretaries International in 1981 and, finally, the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) in 1998.

These changes in name reflected the changing nature of the tasks, qualifications and responsibilities of the members of the organization. IAAP now has an international orientation and continues to provide education and training and set standards of excellence recognized by the business community on a global perspective. The organization's vision is "to inspire and equip all administrative professionals to attain excellence".

The first National Secretaries Week was organized in 1952 in conjunction with the United States Department of Commerce and various office supply and equipment manufacturers. The Wednesday of that week became known as National Secretaries Day. As the organization gained international recognition, the events became known as Professional Secretaries Week® and Professional Secretaries Day®. In 2000, IAAP announced that names of the week and the day were changed to Administrative Professionals Week and Administrative Professionals Day to keep pace with changing job titles and expanding responsibilities of the modern administrative workforce. Many work environments across the world observe this event.

Symbols

IAAP's logo is a Robinson-type projection of the globe with the letters 'IAAP' on a broad band around the equator. The globe represents the international nature of the association and the letters its name. Each year, this logo is incorporated into an image reflecting the theme of the Administrative Professionals Day and Administrative Professionals Week events. It is sold in the form of a pin as a way of raising funds to help pay the costs of the international conventions organized by the association.

Administrative Professionals Week® and Administrative Professionals Day® are registered trademarks of the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP). The former names, Professional Secretaries Week® and Professional Secretaries Day®, are also trademarked terms owned by IAAP.

Administrative Professionals Day Observances

Weekday

Date

Year

Name

Holiday type

Where it is observed

Wed

Apr 23

1980