My mother, Sheila Cross, who has died aged 82 from cancer, was an inspirational university careers adviser, while also working as a social studies tutor at the Open University (OU) for 36 years.
A feminist, Sheila developed some of the earliest women’s studies courses, in the early 1970s, for Durham University. In the mid-70s, she became a tutor for the New Opportunities for Women courses run by the universities of Durham and Newcastle, empowering women across the north-east – according to my mother, this was the most rewarding work she did.
