Atlas Assignment: Canada

The topics for Canada are Motherhood, Maternal mortality, and working for wages. In comparison of the number of women working for wages in Canada and the United States, Canada actually has a higher number of women working. According to the Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, 60% of women work in Canada, and only 50-59% in the U.S.(p.21) The number is slightly higher in Canada than the U.S. This is directly in correlation with women's independence, because women do not have to rely on their male partner for economic support. For example, the women living in the middle east will have to rely on their male partners for economic support because they are not allowed to work. Without the opportunity to work, they will have to live under the reign of men, without any other options. Men simply did not want women to be able to be better off than themselves. 
According to the Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, fewer than 10 mothers die per 100,000 live births in the year 2000 (p. 41). This may be in part to the free healthcare provided by the government in Canada. The equation is simple--good healthcare = good health of baby and mother. Canada is one of the top countries with less than 10 deaths per 100,000 births. Women are treated well, given the solutions to their needs, and are paid with respect in those countries. it is important that health services are available to people when they need it, or else the consequences would be dire. In addition to maternal mortality, women are also choosing to have fewer and fewer children. The Penguin Atlas of Women in the World asserts, "...on worldwide average, women are having fewer children than did their mothers and grandmothers. This trend reflects two main factors: the increasing availability of reproductive health services--including the liberalization of abortion laws--and incremental improvements in women's statuses and autonomy "(p.34). Obviously, if given the choice, they will use contraceptives and decide whether or not they want a baby. China, for example, has large and easy access to contraceptives. According to the Penguin Atlas of Women in the World, 75% of women in China have access to contraceptives in the year 2000, more than United States. This shows that women in the world have the power to control whether or not to have babies if they have access to the services they need.