TipuSultan, who ever made the rule that all housework is to be done by the housewife?
It's not in Islam. It's a cultural remnant of a patriarchial society, and as Islam doesn't advocae for patriarchial or matriarchial but rather is fairly egalitarian, it is no suprise that Islam advocates men to help their women out at home.
Islamically, the man is suppose to be the provider while the woman is the caretaker of the house (cooking, cleaning, raising children, etc?). However, it's a hadith that Prophet Muhammad PBUH has said how helping your wife with chores has so much of sawab in it that it is compared to giving charity. Also, if your wife is used to having a maid, the husband must provide her one if he can financially afford to. So yeah, sitting back and expecting your wife to do everything, especially if she works also, is not right. Even if your wife doesn't ask you to pitch in, atleast keep an open mind in terms of willing to help if you see her needing it vs. acting like an idiot and saying, I'm the man, it's beneath me to do any of this.
Culturally, men (some, not all) have made up their minds of how doing anything around the house should only be the woman's job, and helping her around is such a disgrace. Alot of it has to do with what they see in their homes, in particular, how they are raised by their mothers. In alot of desi households, you will see the moms and daughters doing most of the housework while the sons are treated like VIP. The sisters are expected to give their brothers food, and basically act like a maid. If the parents can stop raising their boys and girls in such a way, maybe we'll see alot of changed men.