I’m A Male Secretary, People Don’t Get It

I am a 23-year-old male secretary. That’s right, a secretary. Not an administrative assistant, administrative professional or research assistant, alternative titles that I am permitted to use.

Why, you ask, am I so insistent on being called a secretary? Because it makes people a little uncomfortable. Because secretaries are women, and men don’t become secretaries. But mostly because I am a feminist.

I am a man who believes that women are not only as capable as men at any given task, but are often more capable. I am a man who believes that women should never be discouraged, held back or overlooked because of their gender in any circumstance, professionally or otherwise. I am a man who believes that women must be empowered to enter a line of work that suits their personality, builds upon their strengths, and engages and fulfills them — whether or not the job is one typically performed by a man or a woman.

I am also a man who believes that the same rules apply to men; that men must also be encouraged to live and work in a way that suits them, regardless of gender stereotypes.

The empowerment of women and girls around the world is an issue that is always circulating in the public consciousness. We hear about it on the news, in song lyrics, in advertisements for deodorant and, most prominently, in the 2016 presidential election when Hillary Clinton sought to become the nation’s first woman president.

We hear about women hitting the glass ceiling that prevents them from getting promoted to the highest level positions and women still not receiving equal pay for equal work. We encourage girls to be independent, self-assured and fierce, in the best sense of the word.

What we, as a society, fail to do, however, is encourage men and boys to be anything other than strong, brave and ambitious. We do not empower men and boys to be nurturing, compassionate and emotionally intelligent the same way that we foster ambition in girls. The fight for gender equality is not just about empowering women and girls; it is about encouraging authenticity in each individual, men and boys included, and allowing them to live their lives in a way that satisfies them.

Not every male nurse is on his way to becoming a doctor, and not every male paralegal is on his way to law school. Assuming that every man’s goal is to reach the most prestigious, highest-paying job in his field is like assuming that every woman’s goal is to have children and to stay at home to raise them. Neither of these assumptions is true, and they only serve to stall the progress being made toward true equality among the sexes.

According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data from earlier this year, only 5.4 percent of secretaries and administrative assistants are men. I am part of a very small minority that is redefining what it means to be a secretary, much like women have redefined what it means to be a lawyer, doctor, politician, electrician, plumber, firefighter and police officer. Every day when I sit at my desk in the front of the office and perform my secretarial duties, I am rejecting gender stereotypes and promoting gender equality.

People often ask me what my plans are for the future. The underlying assumption being that I couldn’t possibly want to be a secretary for the rest of my working life. But the truth is that I am perfectly content in my current position. I work with wonderful people in the endlessly captivating environment of the Connecticut General Assembly. I enjoy performing administrative tasks that others have deemed monotonous while also assisting with more substantive projects going on throughout the office. I have found a line of work that suits me, and that is an opportunity that everyone should have, regardless of their gender.

Brandon Seguro lives in Newington.

The Courant invites writers younger than 30 to write essays of 650 words or less containing strong views. Please email your submission to freshtalk@courant.com, with your full name, hometown, daytime phone number, age and occupation (or your school’s name and your level in school).