Irene Parlby (1868 - 1965)

Irene Parlby had a fascinating life as an English aristocrat and a member of the Famous Five. She was the first Albertan woman and the second woman in Canada to hold a provincial cabinet post. She was an important advocate for rural women and children.

• Parlby was born into an aristocratic family in England, and travelled the world before moving to Alberta in 1897.
• Her experience as a farmer’s wife motivated her to improve the health and welfare of rural women and children in Alberta. She founded the United Farm Women of Alberta and was its president for 3 years.
• She was elected to the Alberta Legislature in 921 and was known as “the Women’s Minister” due to her focus on health, children, and women’s issues.
• She is best known for being a member of the Famous Five, the group of women who successfully argued that women are “persons” with the same rights as men.
• Parlby argued that politics “most assuredly is a woman’s job as much as it is a man’s job.”