Housewife one of the most important jobs on earth

Housewifery: it's a word we don't hear very often today. The first reason is that the word has fallen out of common usage. The second reason is that among so many in our "advanced," "enlightened" society, housewifery, or the function and duties of being a housewife, or being a stay-at-home mom, are more often than not disdained.

For example:

OK, it's a trick question, but in my Women's Studies classes when we come to the chapter on "Women and Work," I always ask my students to raise their hands if their mother's work. About half the hands go up.

I'll be at a social function and I'll hear someone ask a woman, "So what do you do for a living?" Too often I hear these replies, "Oh, I'm just a housewife," or "I'm only a stay-at-home-mom."