The theme is designed to highlight a world where the absence of balance is noticed, and the presence of it is celebrated.

Advocates - including those at the annual International Women's Day lunch in Horsham on Friday - will aim to show how gender balance is essential for communities to thrive.

Horsham's Penny Flynn is a passionate advocate for women's rights, with her work earning her the Darrell Cochrane Award for the Australian Services Union's Delegate of the Year in 2018.

She said there was still a long way to go to achieve gender balance in our communities.

"In a lot of fields like teaching you've got really good employment agreements that allow women to be at the top levels, but not all fields are like that," she said. "I think we've got a lot of work to do around educating people.

"We live in a conservative community, and I still think we're a long way behind some other places.

"We have to call out poor attitudes and behaviour when we see them, whether in our workplaces, sporting clubs or elsewhere in the community.

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"Everyone has a mum, a sister, a daughter, a friend. There needs to be an understanding that doing the housework or the groceries, for example, is not women's work.

"At the end of the day, I believe everyone is an equal.

"Whether you're a boy or girl, we should both have the same opportunities."

When Emma Kealy became the first woman elected to represent our region at state or federal level in 2014, it signaled a new era in many ways.

But it was not a surprise; Ms Kealy was always determined her gender would never hold her back from any opportunity.

"I've been fortunate that I've been raised to know I can achieve anything," she said.

"I've always been treated with the ideal that there is no glass ceiling - if you put your mind to something and work hard, you can achieve it."

Ms Kealy said she felt her appointment as Member for Lowan was a key point for women in the region.

"They could see that if I was doing it, it was possible for them too," she said.

"When I was first elected, I would have older women who would lean into my ear to say, 'It's fantastic we've got a woman in the role', through to younger teenagers who would speak to me about being interested in politics.

"If we can show the younger generation they can achieve anything, they will go on to do it."

Ms Kealy said it was important women prioritised themselves and their needs to achieve balance in a variety of areas.

"The way I interpret Balance for Better is how women, in particular, balance all the demands in their lives," she said. "As a parent of a young boy, I'm always feeling torn between being a parent, a member of parliament, and all the other commitments I put on myself. I don't always balance my own life that well in terms of making sure I'm doing things for me.

"For women in particular I think it's important to take time to go for a walk, go for a coffee with friends, read a book - spend time doing whatever we need to look after our physical and mental health, and don't feel guilty about it."

Like Ms Kealy, Nationals candidate for Mallee Anne Webster has also broken new ground, as the first woman pre-selected for the federal seat in the party's history.

Dr Webster hopes the achievement will give other women the confidence and belief that they too can achieve whatever they set out to do in life.

"At the field days when people saw Emma, Bridget McKenzie and I standing up together to announce funding, I had women come up to me and say, 'This is just fantastic to see three strong women representing the Nationals'," she said.

"That was really encouraging. From that I can only assume there are others who might think the same.

"The young women from my organisation, I'm hearing they're really proud of steps I've taken. If that means I'm inspiring them, that's a fantastic outcome."