From adventure tourism to engineering, these N.L. women are pioneers in their fields

International Women's Day,celebrated annually on March 8, encourages worldwide efforts to achieve gender parity, equalityand advancement.

In recognition of International Women's Day, CBC News spoke with three women who have been pioneers in their field in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Shirley Kennedy

Shirley Kennedy is proud to be one of the first women to work in mechanical engineering at the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Mill.

Kennedy started work there in 1972 as a cleaner. Cleaning staff weren't unionized employees then, she said, and she was one of the women who pushed for change.

Without that change, cutbacks could have ended her career at the mill, she said. Instead, her seniority earned her a job in thermal mechanical pulping.

She had a lot to learn mechanically and was nervous about taking on the role.

"I always say, if someone had a gun to my back that first day, I couldn't have felt worse," she said.

Her older male colleagues were accepting, but younger men sometimes disliked being outranked by a woman. She rose to the rank of senior operator.

"I went to a man in our union he was a person that I trusted. I said to him, 'what should I do?'" she said. "He said to take the job. I said I couldn't do it, no woman had done it. He said if I couldn't do it, no man could. He knew me, and I knew what could be."

Sue Rendell

Sue Rendell began and ended her career in the adventure tourism industry with a love of the outdoors.

Growing up in Goose Bay, Rendell remembers loving all kinds of recreation, spending time at the Snow Goose ski hill back when it had just a single rope tow. As a student Rendell excelled at volleyball, earning a place on university, provincialand national teams and an induction to the Newfoundland and Labrador Volleyball Hall of Fame.

She later worked in physical education and recreation, and was instrumental in developing the adventure tourism program at College of the North Atlantic.

In 1990, Rendell and her partner Bob Hicks turned their skills and passion for the outdoors into one of the earliest adventure tourism businesses in Newfoundland, Gros Morne Adventures. They planned strategically, finding connections and promoting Newfoundland and Labrador as an outdoor destination.

Initially, it was a tough sell, but with determination they gained momentum, connected with other tourism providersand lobbiedprovincial organizations for support. Their efforts grew their own business as well as the industry in western Newfoundland.

Rendell and Hicks chose to retire while they were able to enjoy the activities that brought them into the industry in the first place.

Looking back at her achievements, Sue says that even at harder times, her passion was at the root of her success.

"Life can be short. There was never a time when I got out of bed and thought, 'Oh God, I have to go to work.' I was tired, but I loved it."

Beulah Oake

Beulah Oake is well known as the owner and operator of the Seven Oakes Island Inn at Change Islands.

She and her husband Eddie took on the original building when it was in poor condition, with no power and no sewer. They fixed up the building and, at 84 years old, she still runs the inn and dining room.

Oake also has a long list of other achievements. Inthe 1970s, she says, shewas elected the first female councillor in Deer Lake. Shealso claims to be the first woman to run an Irving station in Deer Lake, and the first person to run the canteen at the Deer Lake Airport.

"My life has been very interesting and very very rewarding. I've worked very hard."

What advice would Oake share today?

"Put your customers first. I think we have to make sure we take good care of our people. Going the extra mile isn't going to hurt at all."

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