men's ladders

Based on the above, a man will place a woman highest on his ladder if (he judges) she is willing to have sex with him and he finds her attractive.
It could be said that most men and women would not find that statement ground-breaking.

Men apparently classify women as follows:

Top - (of course) is the woman he really/most fancies.
Next - the women who he would have sex with and admit to.
Last - those women he would have sex with but never admit to it (or be too drunk to remember who she was). Too much alcohol can as we know make even the most unattractive woman (and man) appear desirable.

As an aside it should be remembered that beauty is subjective, and (often) superficial, especially when applied to women (although some men also prefer not to be to seen without their make-up or other physical enhancements).

Men, as stated in the Ladder Theory, do not have a ladder for 'Platonic' females since the theory works on the premise that all men basically evaluate women as sexual objects.

women's ladders

Women as stated earlier have two ladders - Potential Sexual Partners and Platonic Partners.
The first problem here for men is that they often don't know which ladder they are on.
When they do get it wrong they can come to an 'abysmal' end.

Women place Money/Power as a man's most attractive aspect.
This is borne out by how many 'not very attractive' powerful rich men have beautiful women companions. (If the cap fits..)