I think so too. My father was an MS, but never made elder. I have my own theory about the reasons why. My mother was a very beatiful and attractive woman. It was hard for the men of the congregation to not stare at her, and I think the elders` wives, who were usually ugly and/or plain/grey/boring, didn`t like this very much. And my father wasn`t always as clean-shaven as the other men in the congregation, he was kind of a masculine guy, and hence, he couldn`t be seen as "spiritual" enough. Appearances matter, also in the JW-world.