Sarah Frier wrote about Silicon Valley holiday parties:

• The gender imbalance at tech companies mean that most employee holiday parties would be dominated by males.
• To get around this there are companies that will provide models for $50-$200 an hour to socialize with guests at parties.
• The models aren’t always female – about a quarter will be male to up the overall look and classiness of the event.
• The models are required to sign non-disclosure agreements, and to pretend that they’re involved with the company.
• They will be coached with employee names that they can refer to as friends if they’re asked why they haven’t been seen before.
• To make sure that the models aren’t caught in compromising situations they’re often given strict, relatively conservative dress codes, and required to not drink alcohol.

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