The rôle of Iris, and of women in general?

Among many little remarks in the film that were topical, one I do remember is when the awful aunt Miss Winterton (Joyce Carey) had three times secured «deferment» for her sorely put-upon niece. While Iris (Renée Asherson) should have been conscripted for war work, the old monster of unpatriotic selfishness, more concerned about the state of her sauce bottle than beating the Germans, had presumably convinced the authorities that she needed the services of the unfortunate girl. Though she let Iris volunteer as a nursing auxiliary in the local hospital, the niece remained solidly under her thumb. What I do not remember is how much rebellion Iris showed against this tyranny. Any ideas?

Also, while thinking about Iris, isn't the portrayal of women in this film odd? The only ones we see doing anything for the war effort are Iris as a nurse, Toddy (Rosamond John) and her staff manfully running the hotel, and the unnamed entertainer (Jean Simmons). All in their ways are caring for the men who are fighting and suffering, and I agree it was vitally important that they provided a loving alternative to the hatefulness of war, but isn't it a very one-sided picture of what millions of young women in the UK and the USA (and other allied countries) were doing?