What happened to the good old housewife?

I do not see too many girls who want to become housewives these days. It is almost as if staying at home and bringing up kids is inferior to having a power job. My mother has been the most important person in the family for the better part of the last three decades. She has pretty much molded our (dad’s included) lives. Now before this turns into a eulogy (are you reading max?) for my mother, let me get back to the topic I have been thinking about.
Right, so why is it today we believe that a working woman is somehow superior to a housewife. The lady with a job brings greater financial security to the household. But the housewife is able to give something which is a lot more important than that: her time. There are some things only a woman can do. Teaching a kid right from wrong is definitely one of them. I believe that making sure that our future generations turn out well is the single most important task we perform today. It is not just charity that begins at home. This is where it all begins. The whole character of person is made or marred during those formative years. The conscience of humanity and indeed its survival depends on the quality (not talking intelligence here) of our people. And it is the mother’s responsibility for the simple reason that she is better equipped for it (I have always known that I am a chauvinist in these matters. But that is how it is).
So why am I writing this today? Because I heard someone talking to a colleague of mine asking her to “put in more work towards getting a management degree, or prepare to just bring up kids and look after your home”. That to my mind is simply not fair. We do not give our mothers the respect they deserve. And as such, no girl would today be willing to be “just a mother”. Besides that there is the issue of financial independence. That seems to me a rather strange argument. I wonder what kind of a marriage it is where one person needs to be financially independent of the other. The concept is so very alien to me that I am not able to produce counterarguments.
I am not a lucky person. Perhaps that is because I used up most of my share of luck when He gave me my mother.
Why do I get the feeling there is a lot left unsaid every time I end one these things?