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<\/a>After Mina\u2019s departure and the receipt of her complaint, Senate appointed a committee to look into the events.\u00a0 The reports show that the situation was more nuanced than it initially appeared.\u00a0 Senate acknowledged that nothing was said in women\u2019s contracts about giving up work on marriage or when they had a child and therefore Mina had no reason to think either of these events would be a problem.\u00a0 The report also acknowledged that it was inherently contradictory to allow women to marry and then complain if they had a child.\u00a0 Interestingly, the committee found that there had been a misunderstanding which led to Mina\u2019s departure.\u00a0 She had been strongly advised by Olive to consider her position (who invoked the name of the Principal at their meeting) – but she had not formally been given notice.\u00a0 They said that in making that assumption and consulting a solicitor she had aggravated the situation and led Council to assume she had been dismissed as well.\u00a0 Council went on to ratify the (actually non-existent) dismissal.<\/p>\n The initial report was fairly critical of Olive, who they claimed had been inconsistent and had wrongly given Mina the impression that she was to be dismissed. \u00a0Olive objected to this draft and emphasised the other issues she had with Mina\u2019s continued employment.\u00a0 As an Italian citizen Mina\u2019s husband was at risk of internment as soon as Italy declared war on the UK and France.\u00a0 (Ironically, they did this one day after the birth of her son.)\u00a0 Mina\u2019s own nationality was in question following her marriage because at this time women took their husband\u2019s nationality –\u00a0although they could apply to have their British citizenship restored*, which Mina seems to have done.\u00a0 Following the declaration of war by Italy in 1940 she would be restricted as to where she could travel and might have to request police permission or an escort before going into schools \u2013 an important part of her job.<\/p>\n There was also unease over the fact that Mina had moved to North Wales to be with her husband after her marriage.\u00a0 The distance from the College was a worry to Olive even before Mina’s pregnancy was revealed.\u00a0 Taking all of these factors into account, Olive believed that Mina would not be able to perform her job satisfactorily or devote the necessary amount of time.\u00a0 She emphasised that Mina’s work was specialised and it would be impossible to find someone who could cover for her.\u00a0 It was noted in the report that although Mina carried out all her lecturing duties before the birth on 9th<\/sup> June, she did fail to complete some of her admin tasks over the summer.\u00a0\u00a0Although these\u00a0other reasons did affect her attitude to Mina, Olive clearly stated her belief that from a psychological and developmental perspective, mothers should be at home with their babies.<\/p>\n As part of the investigation, the Committee asked other employers about their policy in this area.\u00a0 A letter in the file from Liverpool Education Department\u00a0states that\u00a0they would\u00a0only employ married women on a temporary basis and then only if they were separated from their husbands or were the sole breadwinner due to their husband\u2019s ill health.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Department automatically took an announcement of marriage by a female employee as a resignation.\u00a0 In contrast to this, after a full investigation Senate formally declared that women should not have to leave the College when they married or had a\u00a0child.\u00a0 As long as the women could carry out their job, they would remain employed.\u00a0 It was suggested that they might need to look at offering a leave of absence around the time of the birth, which could cause\u00a0problems over covering their duties, but this did not prevent them from upholding the right of women to stay in their job.<\/p>\n Although we were initially a little saddened to see one of our heroes disinclined to uphold a female member of staff\u2019s right to work after having a child, we were heartened by the College\u2019s eventual decision. It is only fair to say that although many of us today may have a different opinion to Olive, as a child psychologist her objections were made on the grounds of genuinely held professional concern for the welfare of children, and they were by no means unusual.\u00a0 Olive’s life and work still stand as inspiring and\u00a0progressive: Inspirational People 1: Dame Olive Wheeler<\/a>\u00a0 This story also raises the interesting question on how we choose to view people who display common attitudes of the times in which they lived.<\/p>\n To finish on a positive note, I\u2019m pleased to report that Mina went on to have a very successful career in academia and died in North Wales at the age of 89.\u00a0 We admire her determination to marry, have a child and continue to carry out her work to a high standard.\u00a0 Her refusal to accept the position she found herself in led to the right to remain at work after childbirth becoming the\u00a0official policy of the College.\u00a0 While there may still have been hurdles to overcome, it was a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n * “Under the British Nationality and Status of Aliens Act, 1914<\/a>, a woman loses her nationality, and under that Act, as amended by the 1933 Act, such a woman is given the right to make an application for her British nationality to be restored to her.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>