I'm female and for thirteen years I had the GREATEST male secretary in the world! I was bummed-out when he retired.
Actually, I said that tongue in cheek.
I had the best “assistant” when I took my first executive job. She was about ten years older than me. She took me aside and told me how it was going to work.
She took over my calendar.
She took over my appointments and phone calls.
She took over my paperwork.
She organized me in a way that I had never been before.
She explained to me that she was my best friend. She needed to know what I was doing, where I was going, and who everyone was. She told me that I had to trust her with stuff that no one else would know. If I had the inclination to be places I shouldn’t be, I had to trust her to “block” for me. (I never took her up on that one.)
In the end, she made me 200% better than I was ever going to be on my own.
For years we worked together. There was never any hanky panky. There was never any suspicion of hanky panky. She got to know my wife, and my wife loved her.
Leaving her behind when I left that job was the only thing I missed.
Old school Executive Secretaries are worth their weight in gold.