This Menopause Joke Explains Why Women May Be Staying Out of the Courtroom

By Natalie Kitroeff, Bloomberg News

An attorney who suggested that his female colleague was going through menopause was ordered last week by a federal judge to pay the colleague $1,000.

The lawyer, Camilo Salas, made the comment during a deposition in which Dora Monserrate-Peñagarícano, his opposing counsel, complained that the room was hot. In response, Salas said, in front of 14 attorneys, “you’re still hot? You’re not getting menopause, I hope.”

Salas said that he was concerned about Monserrate-Peñagarícano’s “medical condition,” adding: “A hot room is a trigger for hot flashes in women who are going through menopause.” The theory did not sway District Judge ...