There's absolutely no hesitation when Tracy Medve answers these questions.

"Yes, this industry is male-dominated," said the president of KF Aerospace (formerly Kelowna Flightcraft).

"And yes, I am one of the few women in Canada at this level in aviation."

We're speaking with Medve about this because it's International Women's Day, a time to celebrate female successes, but also recognize there's still a long way to go for complete equality.

"When I started in this business 35 years ago, there weren't very many women in aviation and aerospace and if they were they were flight attendants or in administration," said Medve.

"At KF Aerospace about 20% of our aircraft mechanics, aircraft structural engineers, aerospace engineers and pilots are women, which is above the industry average. I'm a big proponent of telling women these are absolutely achievable good-paying jobs they should be persuing."

As such, Medve says the magic formula for women in business tends to be education, taking advantage of opportunities and good luck.

She's a lawyer who started working in aviation in the early 1980s for Norcanair, a small airline in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

"I think having an education is key and I was also willing to move around a lot and take advantage of opportunities," said Medve.

"I also had a great mentor in Richard Barton of Time Air and got involved in industry associations. That's how, when I was with Canadian North, I met Barry Lapointe of KF Aerospace and he asked me one day if I'd like to be president."

Ashley Ramsey is the co-founder and president of Kelowna-based animation studio Yeti Farm Creative.

"I come from a line of women where my mom and aunt and grandmother were all successful in the male-dominated corporate world," said Ramsey.

"I grew up knowing that if you believe in yourself, it didn't really matter if you were a woman, you could achieve your goals and make a difference."

Ramsey isn't an animator, but she did work in the business as a producer and eventually formed her own company because she's an entrepreneur at heart.

"There are only a handful of company founders in animation in Canada," said Ramsey.

"But diversity in the industry is increasing every year. At Yeti Farm, 50% of our employees are women and I'm proud of that. We don't see gender when we hire, we hire for skills."

For there to be more women in business, Ramsey said the go-for-it mindset has to continue to flourish and there needs to be more community support, such as the programs the Women's Enterprise Centre and Accelerate Okanagan offer.

When Renee Merrifield moved to Kelowna over 20 years ago and started looking for a job she couldn't find one.

So she started her own company, Troika, the development firm behind such projects as the master-planned lakefront community West Harbour, Green Square townhomes and condominiums, The Landing at Woods Lake townhouses in Lake Country and Upper Avenue office building in downtown Kelowna.

"I had children and I needed something flexible, so I built the company while taking my babies to meetings and work," said Merrifield.

"But societal norms still prevail and women, even if they work full-time, are primarily responsible for child care and do the lion's share of housework. On International Women's Day we can certainly recognize how far we've come and empower women to be whoever they want to be, but also be aware of how far we still have to go."

Merrifield is also the MLA for Kelowna-Mission and the Liberal's health critic.

"As the health critic I've seen how women have bared the brunt of this pandemic," she said.

"They are the nurses, frontline workers, caretakers, healthcare administrators and mothers who still are primarily responsible for child care and do the lion's share of housework."

Merrifield gave shout outs to five other Kelowna women who she is in "awe of" because they are "powerhouses."

Nikki Csek, CEO of Csek Creative and NowMediaGroup, which KelownaNow.com is part of; provincial court judge Jane Cartwright; wealth advisor Rhonda Hymers of Hymers Private Wealth of RBC Dominion Securities; Pushor Mitchell Lawyers partner Theresa Arsenault; and Laurel Douglas, CEO of the Southern Interior Development Trust and former executive director of the Women's Enterprise Centre.