Making it work. It's All a Matter of Choice

• Author: Rashida La Lande
• Pages: 14-14

PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF KRAFT HEINZ COMPANY

Opening Statements

MAKING IT WORK

It’s All a Matter of Choice

Making It Work is a column in partnership wi th the Working

Mother Best Law Firms for Wome n initiative in which lawyers

share how they man age both life’s challenges and work’s demand s.

Visit workingm other.com for more.

By Rashida La Lande

Like most other working mothers,

I sometimes feel life can be over -

whelming—a cons tant juggle among

the competing needs of fami ly,

career and self. I’m often a sked,

“How do you make it work?” But

what’s critical to me is my own s elf-

a r mation of “Why I make it work.”

My reasons are highly pers onal.

But if I’m clear in my own mind

about why I am making the choices

that I make, then worr ying about

the “how” fades. A s my grand-

mother Vivian used t o say, “Where

there is a will, there i s a way.” Four

reminders keep me grounded and

guide my life decisions.

1. Own your c hoices. I grew up

in Queens as an only chi ld whose

favorite companions were books.

My mother took many of the

neighborhood chi ldren under her

wing—and some of my best child-

hood memories i nclude times our

house overfl owed with them. It was

utter chaos—and I loved every m in-

ute of it! From then on, I knew that

I wanted a large fam ily. My husband

and I have two boys and two g irls

between the ages of 3 and 10. What

used to sound like chaos when I wa s

a child now sounds like music to my

ears when we’re all home together.

2. My work matters. I love my

new role as global general counsel

at Kraft Heinz . I work for a com-

pany that’s founded on meritocracy

and ownership—two values I whole-

heartedly bel ieve in. So much so,

in fact, that I’m tempora rily com-

muting between New York City and

our co-headquart ers in Chicago

each week. Every single day, I learn

something new or face a new chal-

lenge. I work with talented, sma rt,

creative, results -driven colleagues

that believe in teamwork. I tr avel

the world, learn new language s

and explore di erent cultures as

part of my job. And most impor-

tantly, I am having fun.

3. Proudly embrace ch ange.

My grandmothers had 22 chil-

dren between them, and t hey had

absolutely no ability to indepen-

dently care for their children. I

saw how much stress and pressure

that put on them. When they were

raising their fami lies during the

1950s and 1960s, women were the

sole or primary breadw inner in just

11 percent of American households

with children under the ag e of 18.

The percentage is closer to 50 per-

cent today. I’m proud to be among

this group of working moms who

provide fi nancially for their chil-

dren, while raising them t o be

productive members of society.

4. Children lea rn what they

live. When I came home one recent

Friday, my 10-year-old son was

playing a World Cup soccer video

game. Everyone needs a break , I

reasoned, so I didn’t give him a

hard time about fi nishing his home-

work or playing his violin. As I put-

tered around the room, I heard h im

exclaim, “Thi s goalie is boss” and

“Best goalie ever!” When I looked

up, I realized his ga me featured the

women’s U.S. soccer team—and I

almost cried. Most am azing was the

fact that my son didn’t think play ing

a game starr ing female players was

a big deal. How the world has

changed since I was his a ge!

That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?

I want both my sons and my daugh-

ters to have choices in who they

become and what they do. I want

them to have a wide, diverse v iew of

success and strengt h. I’m presenting

them with a di erent view of what

working women and a 21st-century

family look like.

Journalis ts are admonished to

“show, don’t tell.” That’s what I’m

doing for my kids through my own

choices each and every d ay. Actions

speak louder than words—and I

hope the subtle life lessons I’m

teaching come through loud and

clea r. Q

Rashida La Lande joined Kraft Heinz

in January from Gibson, Dunn &

Crutcher in New York City, where she

was a partner. She has 18 years of legal

experience representing companies and

private equity sponsors in the consumer

products, retail,  nancial services and

technology industries. As global general

counsel and corporate secretary at

Kraft Heinz, she leads the company’s

legal functions, including corporate

governance and securities, transactions,

regulatory, intellectual property, litiga-

tion, and labor and employment.

14 || ABA JOURNAL AUGUST 2018

“I work for a company

that’s founded on meritocracy

and ownership—two values

I wholeheartedly believe in.”

—Rashida La Lande