Page 14 - 201902 SCA February 2019 Volume 56 Number 1

Painted MEMoRIES WOMEN IN SURFACE COATINGS
raw material shortages and became the first The text of the monthly “Taubmans M.P. – Magazine
widely accepted waterborne interior wall paint with for Master Painters” from June 1958, as reprinted
sufficient binding power to allow washability. below, appears very sexist and patronising when
viewed through the eyes of the current social
The water washup and lower odour characteristics of paradigm. However, at the time, this would have been
Kem-Tone® encouraged marketers to target women viewed as very supportive of women in our Industry.
as their primary customer for this paint, as pictured
in these advertisements from the 1940s and 1950s; When I first started attending OCCA New Zealand
Conventions they started on Friday and finished after
a half day of papers on Sunday. Ladies activities were
organised for the wives on Friday and Saturday while
their husbands were attending the presentations.

This was an appropriate format at the time as it gave
an opportunity for wives, whose husbands all had
similar job demands, to network with other wives who
had husbands with like job demands and pressures.
It also gave them an opportunity to learn more about
the nature of their husband’s work and profession.

The OCCA Conventions also provided an opportunity
to have a break from the children and reinforce their
matrimonial bond away from housework and the day
to day demands of home.

With compulsory retirement at the age of 60 being
Demonstrations of this new water-based paint were the norm at the time, most young families had fit and
often conducted by women, as shown in this photo able grandparents who were retired and had plenty
of a Kem-Tone® demonstration at Gimbel Brothers of free time on their hands. These grandparents were
department store, New York City, in 1942. only too happy to have the grandchildren for three
days while their parents were at the Convention.
The Convention format that intruded into the
weekend was shortened to be Saturday only,
and then finally abandoned by SCANZ in 2017.
The Conventions immediately prior to the 2017
Convention had seen a significant loss of delegates
on the Friday evening or Saturday morning as many
delegates left for home, their weekends being too
precious to lose to a work commitment.

Though still predominantly male, our industry now
has a significant number of female participants
In spite of these significant changes in the role across all areas. With partners of our delegates
of women, the change in social attitudes was far being, in most cases, also in fulltime employment,
more gradual.

New Zealand’s Lady Painter

A well-known Christchurch master painter has a lady assistant – his
daughter of sixteen. As the photograph shows, Fay Norton is more
than usually attractive. She learned the trade from her father and since
leaving school last year has assisted him on a number of Butex house
painting jobs in and near Christchurch.
Fay is quite all right on heights, painting on tall ladders. She is
very interested in suggesting colour schemes for the jobs that she
works on. She intends to paint with her father in all seasons, hot and
cold. Her favourite brush size is the 3½”. Her father says Fay keeps
him in order and the pair of them work very happily together. She is
very much in love with her job. Fay states that she is keen to travel,
and does not want to marry until she is at least 23 years of age. (This
will discourage any eager males who cannot wait so long – or will it?
Time alone will show.)

12 Journal of Surface Coatings Australia • February 2019