Okay so we kind of knew the whole trophy wife theory wasn’t totally baseless, but it was still sort of an unspoken element of business practices and decisions. Your spouse is a reflection of you, men who want to move up the corporate ladder should have an equal partner on their side—and it wouldn’t hurt if she was arm candy too—but I’m not sure it was ever understood to be the deciding factor in the hiring process, at least not openly.

Vanderbilt’s head football coach has blown the whole top off of this phenomenon with a comment he made during an appearance on 104.5 The Zone. James Franklin very calmly, and without reservation, told host Clay Travis that his candidate’s appearance isn’t the only thing he’s critiquing during the hiring process, he’s also checking out his wife.

“I’ve been saying it for a long time, I will not hire an assistant until I see his wife. If she looks the part and she’s a D1 recruit, then you got a chance to get hired. That’s part of the deal. There’s a very strong correlation between having the confidence, going up and talking to a women, and being quick on your feet and having some personality and confidence and being articulate and confident, than it is walking into a high school and recruiting a kid and selling him.”

I want to ride with Franklin on this because I somewhat like his point about men and confidence and approaching women, but the shallowness of what he’s saying is making it hard for me to fight the urge to gag. It’s clear from his comment that a D1 recruit is another word for barbie doll and men, but more so the women with them, are essentially being judged on how attractive they are as proof that a man didn’t just settle for any old woman, or God forbid care about her brain more than some other b words.

The Business Insider took a less superficial take on the role women play in their husband’s hiring process by pointing out that this element is more important the higher you climb in your career and the more male dominant the industry is.

“The general rule of thumb is that the spouse starts becoming a factor once you start getting into leadership positions, especially with smaller companies where great sacrifices might be required on the part of families—that’s when the hiring executive wants to meet Mrs. Candidate, more often than not to gauge whether she’ll be supportive of the sacrifices required, and also to sell her in to the promise of the role, etc.”

That I can stand behind, but when it comes to looks being used to prove a man is a true go-getter or more ambitious, I’m not feeling it.

What do you think about wives being judged as part of the hiring process in certain fields and for certain positions?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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