Delia Parodi

Who was Delia Parodi?

Delia Parodi was an Argentine politician and the first Argentine woman to hold a prominent elected post.

Delia Delfina Degliuomini was born to Italian Argentine parents in Ingeniero Luiggi, a small La Pampa Province town, in 1913. Her family relocated to Buenos Aires in 1917 and lived in modest circumstances. She was able to attain secondary education, however, and shortly afterwards met Juan Carlos Parodi.

The couple operated a small business and in 1944, Delia Parodi was hired as a stenographer in the Department of Labor by its new appointee, Colonel Juan Perón. Parodi assisted Perón in his fundraising efforts dealing with the devastating 1944 San Juan earthquake, and became close to Eva Duarte. Following Perón's election to the Presidency in 1946, Parodi was transferred to the Province of San Luis, where she participated as an enumerator during the 1947 Census. The experience earned her a promotion as a local ombudsman in the Las Cañitas section of Palermo.

The enactment of female suffrage in Argentina in 1949 and Parodi's neighborhood work earned her a seat in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies in 1951 as one of the first 22 women in Congress.