International Women's Day gave us a chance to reflect on the deeds of inspiring women, those making inroads into areas previously dominated by men, those shaping the way for future generations, women going quietly about their way finding success in their chosen field.

We spoke to three Canberra women working in the hospitality game - a chef, a winemaker, a brewer - wanting to find out more about what led them to where they are today and what advice they'd have for young women thinking about doing the same.

Some of my earliest memories involve cooking with my grandmother. I had a quite conventional upbringing in Perth and we always made the effort to sit down for dinner together on most nights. It was a time that we got to spend together, surrounded by food, it was always a happy time.

It was nice that on days such as birthdays, anniversaries, all of the family would come together, it was good to be able to share those days with everyone at the table full of food.

In some ways I like it now, sharing those events with people who come into Bar Rochford, even though I'm in the kitchen, to know they're out there having their birthdays, anniversaries or first dates, and in some way, we're part of that.

I worked in an office when I first left school, from about the time I was 18 until 23. I soon realised it wasn't for me. I was studying to be an accountant and my heart wasn't in it.

I was cooking for my family, having dinner parties, and I loved being around food. I loved the way it made me feel, the way I made others feel and so I made the change.

I did an apprenticeship and studied for three years, I was working at the Crown Hotel in Perth to start with and then into more fine dining places. I moved to Canberra two years ago.

My partner works in finance and he got a promotion and it was like you're moving to Canberra in six weeks and we just packed up everything and here we are. We love it now, we've really settled in and for both of us it's been the best thing for our careers and for our personal life as well.

Working in this industry can be hard on your personal life. It is a different lifestyle with all the shift and weekend work. That's something that's important to us at Bar Rochford, it always has been.

Josh Lundy and I share the head cheffing duties and it means we can have a bit more of a regular lifestyle. I'm at home three nights a week and I leave at 8pm on Thursdays so I can sit down to dinner with my partner, something as simple as that is life-changing in this industry.

There's been a lot of talk about mental health in the hospitality industry and it's important to think of the health of those with family who work in the industry. If they've had a bad day there's no one there for them after work to talk to. You just can't pick up the phone and call someone in the middle of service. To have those extra couple of hours at home each week with them is so important, it helps you be a better chef and a better person.

I've been lucky that I've never really faced discrimination in the kitchen because I was a woman. I've had some very amazing mentors and in Perth I worked in a kitchen where it was mainly women.

Women can offer different ways of leadership and bring different creative ideas but I think it's important to be able to work with both sexes to come to a place that succeeds for the business.

It's great working with Josh like we do. We are polar opposites, but it's that we are so opposite that it works so well. Every day it's what do you think of this, it's like, yep, we throw ideas back and forth and it's such a safe place to have that support of each other.

I'd say to young women, don't be discouraged. Sometimes it does feel like it's very male dominated but more so now women are standing up. Things aren't done the way they used to be done, the whole mentality of chefs being angry and throwing things that's passing now.

We have women working here at Bar Rochford and it's about trying to be a role model for them, letting them know they have someone to come to if they're having problems. It's about being the change you want to see.

I remember drinking red wine and lemonade as a child. I spent a lot of time with my Italian grandparents.

It wasn't until I was working in London in my early 20s as a microbiologist that my interest in wine picked up.

I was in the hospital of a day and at night I was working in a wine bar on Carnaby Street and was mesmerised by the 1993 Mt Langi Ghiran Shiraz. I loved the white pepper aroma and got hooked on cool climate shiraz. I vowed one day to make a wine that rivalled its remarkable character.

I came back to Australia and became a clinical research associate, specialising in pharmaceutical clinical trials but I was still intrigued by wine.

In 1997 I began a wine science degree at Charles Sturt University and completed her last residential school in 2004 with my nine week daughter in tow. I worked vintages in both the Hunter Valley, Orange, The Macedon Ranges and the Willamett Valley in Oregon while I was studying.

In 2008 we planted the first vines at Charley's Forest just outside of Braidwood. It was a tough start but we produced our first wine in 2014.

In the early days, wine making was very blokey but things have changed significantly as more and more women have joined the profession.

I have not experienced discrimination or hardship, but in saying that I am quite an easy going person and don't get offended easily, I am an optimist and believe that most people have good intentions.

I'm not sure if a woman has a different wine palate to a man. We all have subjectivities when it comes to wine but I do think women bring creativity and articulate descriptors when it comes to making and evaluating wine.

As far as the business goes my perspective has always been not to be in a rush, in taking a step-by-step approach to building the business in order to enjoy the journey. That said authenticity, generosity and, of course, passion are my key drivers.

At the moment I'm drinking the Sapling Yard's The Four Pinots. This wine was born out of a creative spirit of two wine makers, I'm lucky enough now to have winemaker Malcolm Burdett working here with me.

The wine started life as a pinot gris and then evolved, we decided to push the boundaries by adding pinot meunier, pinot noir and pinot blanc, the wine is amazingly gulp-able. I also love gamay as a variety and I melt when presented with a classy chardonnay.

The piece of advice I'd pass on is to truly understand what drives you, what makes you happy and what you want to achieve. Use failure as a positive and don't be in a hurry. I have had some great mentors: Ken Helm, Andrew McEwin, Malcolm Burdett and Fran Marshall just to name a few.

Juggling career, pursuing a passion and prioritising family is hard for everyone. My other long term goal is to create a wildlife sanctuary on the unused land at Sapling Yard Vineyard site at Charley's Forest and possibly a walk in the Budawang National Park similar to the ones in Tasmania. Nature is the great disarmour, we need to connect and it is so important for our human existence.

I wanted to be a cook when I left college and one of my first jobs was at the Wig and Pen. Although I wasn't working in the brewery then, it did give me a great introduction into craft beer and an appreciation of the vast flavour profiles you can create with just four ingredients.

Like most people my first beer was a mainstream beer, sometime in my teens. I don't think my appreciation of flavours was like it is now, it was more about being able to share a beer with friends.

When I started working at the Wig and Pen it was great to be able to try a lot of beer styles that were not traditionally available in other venues or bottle shops.

I met my partner Richard Watkins at the Wig and Pen and since then we've always been involved in the brewing industry. We travelled the world for a while, trying to work out what we wanted to do and in 2014 we opened BentSpoke. We served 3000 litres of beer in the first week.

I think traditionally the way some companies advertise beer it has tended to be pitched at men. That's starting to change which is great.

I've always loved drinking beer and so have a lot of my friends and it's pleasing to see that beer companies are acknowledging that there are lots of beer drinking women out there and changing the way they pitch their products.

Women's palates are very refined and a lot of women are involved in beer judging. Women have great attention to detail which helps with picking up different flavours and characteristics.

I am pretty lucky I personally have never faced any discrimination, it is a great industry to be involved in. I have always felt welcomed and included. It's like a big family, brewers are always keen to get together over a beer and share stories and information.

It's amazing to see so many women involved in the industry now and there continues to be more and more women being involved in all aspects of the brewing industry.

I would like to think I have had a positive influence in the development of BentSpoke, ideas coming from a woman's perspective are often different to a man's.

I think it's important for other younger females to see women in management roles, I'm very proud that BentSpoke has such a large number of women involved in the business.

We've just brewed a new beer to celebrate International Women's Day. We decided to name the beer Marion, after Marion Mahony Griffin, the architect who helped shape Canberra, but is often forgotten in the city's narrative. The beer features The Pink Boots Society's Hop Blend. The Pink Boots Society was created to assist, inspire and encourage women in the beer industry.

Work life balance is very important to us. It can be challenging working with your partner but it's been really rewarding to build something together.

I'm a born and bred Canberran and my family is still here, it's important for me to spend time with them. I also like some me time, I like to swim and take the dogs out for a walk.

I would encourage any woman out there to join the brewing industry if that's where their passion lies. It is an amazing industry to be a part of. As we always say it's important to wake up everyday and love what you're doing, and it's easy to do when work with beer.