Kandis Jameson can recall a time when she was cleaning a fish in her younger days.

"An older man leaned over and said he couldn't remember seeing a woman doing that since his grandmother," she said. "It was normal to me because I had a father who believed that women should be able to go out and hunt and fish."

That's how the mayor of Hay River knows women can do anything.

International Women's Day is on March 8 this year and Jameson said in looking back at all women have done, they've come such a long way.

"I think back to when I started in banking and women were mostly the front-line employees, never really at the top or higher levels," she said. "You see so many women in positions of authority or the decision-making table: mayors, councillors, MLAs, chiefs - you name it. Here in the NWT, there are so many in such a small place and it just gets better every year."

Jameson started her professional career in banking after graduating from Diamond Jenness Secondary School. Following 15 years in finance, she and her husband decided to buy Hay River Disposals, a company they still own and operate to this day.

Jameson said seeing women in entrepreneurship wasn't something too common when she decided to take the plunge into it.

"I'm always up for the challenge and you always have more control of the situation when you're in charge," she said. "Until you walk in and show people, they may not take you seriously at the start."

She's serving her third term at the helm of the town after being acclaimed last October. Before that, she served on town council and as a trustee on the Hay River District Educational Authority.

Public service is something she wanted to get into because, as she said, if you want to be part of the solution, you can't just be a complainer.

"I look at something and see if I can add value to it," she said. "That's how it is with politics - if I think I can be part of the solution, I'll do it and a big reason why I think a lot of women are getting involved is because men are stepping up to support them. You see more women in the workforce now. Before, it was the woman's job to do all the household things and the men went out and worked. Here in the NWT, I can guarantee almost every household is a two-income one and it takes a team effort to ensure it all works."

Jameson isn't ready to call it a political career just yet - there are still boxes left to check, she said, but she always plans on staying involved.

"I didn't think I'd still be doing this," she said with a laugh. "Again, I wouldn't do it unless I felt I added value to it. I'll always want to spend time with the grandkids, but I know I'll always be involved in some way."

As for what she's like to see for the future, Jameson said continuing to build women up will only mean more success.

"We need to keep on supporting women and building them up, not knocking them down because your sex should not define what you can do," she said. "I think we're on a more equal playing field with men now, but we're far from finished."