A Comparative Study of Maternity Leave Systems in the United States and Canada

Abstract

Since World War II, Western countries have paid more and more attention to protecting workers rights and interests. Various laws on employment security have been passed in turn, and the value of women has been highlighted. At the social level, women can be used as an effective supplement to the social labour force to ensure the continuous output of social productivity and, at the same time, effectively improve the social status of women; At the household level, in order to improve the low birth rate after World War II, effectively ensuring womens rights and interests can strengthen the role of female mothers, effectively increase fertility rates and ensure the health of newborns. With the exploration of womens value, how women should balance family and work has received widespread attention, and the implementation of maternity and various family benefits has protected women. However, as neighbours, the United States and Canada have very different attitudes regarding womens maternity benefits. This paper attempts to use case studies to explore why maternity benefits in the United States are less generous than those in Canada, which is also an economically developed country. Paid maternity leave is only partially impassable for the United States, but it has difficulties. The study shows that the US reluctance to provide paid leave at the national legal level is related to its market and family policies, ideology, company values, and popular support. It further explores possible recommendations for the reality of maternity benefits in the United States.