FEW people are better placed than Sandra Handley to see the resilience, strength and determination displayed by so many women in the face of adversity.

It's what makes today, International Women's Day, particularly important to the YWCA NSW Northern Rivers senior manager who has spent more than a decade in community and social services.

"One of the amazing things is women have so much ability to carry on no matter what and I think we see that every day with women who get up, feed the children, get them to school," she said.

"We are immensely strong and I guess I see a lot of that in the community sector has a very high percentage of female employees and to see the sort of work that they do day after day, is immensely inspiring.

"And then on the other side, to see women clients and how they actually do get over the most horrific circumstances and how they put so much energy into creating a better life for themselves or for their children. It's definitely very inspiring."

Ms Handley said she worked at the Lismore Women's Health and Resource Centre for several years before recently taking up her role at the women-led community organisation YWCA.

Despite the leaps and bounds that have been made in women's equality over the past century, Ms Handley said there was still work to be done.

"There's a change that needs to be a societal change around women's place in society," she said.

"If we have a society where a female politician has more media stint on the colour of her shoes or the style of her hair than her policies, then we are not being treated in equal respect."

Ms Handley said she would like people to reflect on the significance of feminism and what it has brought women today.

"How lucky we are in this day and age and this world that we actually have the benefits that our sisters before us fought for and sometimes it's easier to take those for granted, but actually there was a lot that came before that enabled me to have the vote, to own a house, to have a relationship where I'm treated with respect," she said.

"And that's why I think it's so important to be a feminist because those are gifts from our sisters before who didn't have those things."