[whiterabbit2]

Except women have a good chance to be turned down before even being seen in person... (unless, their resume clearly indicates they are juniors and they have nice pictures on FB).

And, yeah, the "approval" thing is actually something like "admiration" and implies that this woman is an inferior professional. If she happens to be a strong professional, it's not desirable for a man to be next to this woman, as it will bring down his own value. It would be more desirable to be next to an older superior man.