No, Really, shoudlnt it be "the more intelligent woman?" or the "more clever"...i'm not entirely sure about cleverer.. saying it out loud to see if it works...hmmmm.
I think you summed it up there Xenia - 100k a year and i would find that hard to give up, not in the least because i would have thought if your income is at that level, your outgoings will match, you're bound to have bigger house, higher mortgage etc. So in a way, being on a lower wage is almost easier to make the decision to be the SAHM. I think that has been the bone of contention for me. My "career" for what it is worth, is academia. I think the average wage for a first time post-doctorial position is 25K, which is a fair wage. But not enough to make me want to not be a SAHM. In the long term i guess i am being short sighted, and my decision is also influenced by personal circs and the fact that i am probably not going to stay in science, at least in university based research. It isn't just the whole, "but DD needs me" argument. Its also the whole thing of having to be ultra organised, have issues with childcare when it goes wrong, there is a problem at nursery, DD is ill and cannot attend etc etc. I just don't want that level of stress in my life thankyou very much. My salary wouldnt cover a nanny, and im not the sort of person who could have another person in my house. I would be uncomfortable. Thats just me.
If i were to earn double that, then i would, i suppose re-think, as we do struggle financially but my getting a job at this stage would make little difference to the overall picture. I also do DPs admin for him so would have to do that on top of everything else. In a few years time when DD is at school, i may well go back, depending on what happens with our business, as i may need to do that full time (fingers crossed).