What is wrong with women not working, or having their own income?

I today pitched a project proposal on this blog's topic: work+family+life (that was not the official working title). We'll see how that turns out (please keep your fingers crossed), but even if nothing comes out of it, a lot has already come out of it. As I wrote in another post, simply having an application to write and an interview to prepare for motivated me to open my eyes and think. It was an interesting experience, and I'm again a step further with my own thoughts on the issue.

My main idea is that it's impossible that we're still training (mainly) women to become (better) housewives. Research shows that education per se is a good end, and my own work focusing on developing countries shows just how important education is for the wellbeing of mothers, the household, and children (e.g. nutrition, financial management and investment, human rights). West-Germany is my "worst-case" example (and data supports this). See the slightly silly graph (thanks, Clipart!) I presented below.

What again struck me was, that out of the five panelists, the two (German) women were interested in the following. What about women who WANT to stay at home? And why is this outcome with work and income a problem, when HOUSEHOLD income remains constant? Instead of letting you know what I responded (although you will guess…), what do you think? Am I wrong to see this as a "problem"? I'd love to post a couple of your replies, so please comment or email.