When Luisa Menezes accepted her first international relocation, she was already a mother of two—and had just found out she was pregnant with her third. What followed was a career-defining journey shaped by family, flexibility, and support systems that made all the difference.
There was no grand plan.
“I hadn’t put my name in for any relocation,” said Luisa Menezes. “Out of the blue, I was invited to go to Lausanne and join the legal team where the company had its operating center for Europe.”
At the time, Menezes was based in Portugal, working for a local company that had recently been acquired by an American multinational. The opportunity to relocate came as a surprise—but an exciting one.
“My husband and I thought it would be quite an adventure. It had never occurred to either of us to have an international career. But we said, ‘Why not? If it works, great. If not, that’s OK too. Let’s just have this experience.’”
She was ready to say yes—until her body sent a different message. “I was feeling weird,” she recalled. “So, I did a pregnancy test, and it came back positive.”
Rather than decline the opportunity, Menezes disclosed the news. “I went back to the general manager who had invited me and said, ‘Look, I’m not sure if you still want me to move. I just found out I’m pregnant, and I don’t know how these things work.’”
To her surprise, the answer was affirmative. “He said, ‘That shouldn’t be a problem. If you and your family are fine with it, the job is still yours.’”
They gave her the option of having the baby in Portugal and relocating afterward, but she opted to move while pregnant. “I had babies already. I felt great. So we moved, and the baby was born in Lausanne.”
According to company HR, she was the first woman they had relocated while pregnant and with a full family in tow. “They told me later they were a little confused with the whole situation,” she said. “But it went perfectly well.”
“The company, at the time, had very good support for international relocations—and it continues to, I believe. That made all the difference.”
Before the move, Menezes and her husband were invited to visit Switzerland to tour houses, meet with doctors, explore schools, and take care of permits and paperwork. “You get a whole week to understand how things work. And that’s really important—not just being thrown in and told, ‘Now go figure out furniture, schools, rentals.’”
Even once on-site, the infrastructure was there. “They worked with different relocation companies, and at a certain point they started working with one that gave you cultural insights, too. Things like what to expect in that country—how people work, how they live, what’s considered rude or polite. Things you wouldn’t necessarily understand unless someone told you.”
Throughout her relocations, Menezes’ husband took on the role traditionally assumed by women in mobility scenarios. “He was a dad at home for a while, always during our moves,” she said.
“For the first 12 to 18 months, if you’re moving with a family, one person really needs to be dedicated to onboarding the family. That was him. My job was very demanding—I didn’t have time to worry about furniture, or buying schoolbooks and pencils.”
That support came at a cost. “It took a toll on his career,” Menezes said. “But it was important to us that we were comfortable with that arrangement, at least for that period.”
She recognizes how unusual their dynamic was. “Most of the time, the woman is the spouse that comes along and puts her career ambitions aside. In our case, it worked the other way around—and it worked, thanks to my husband.”
The personal complexity of the relocations was matched by professional growth. “I moved as a very junior lawyer,” Menezes said. “And then I got a call from my boss in Portugal saying, ‘We need you back—the head of legal is leaving. We want you to replace him.’”
From there, each move continued to build on the last. “Every time I relocated, I progressed. Until I got to vice president. So yes—relocation was how I moved forward in a multinational company.”
One of the most significant forms of support Menezes received was maternity leave.
“At the time, Portugal’s maternity leave was only three or four months. When I had my baby in Switzerland, the company granted me four months at their expense. That was huge.”
She was just seven months into her new role. “I thought it was pretty courageous of them to support that,” she said. “And they made me feel entitled to it—with no guilt, no pressure, no expectations. I will always be very grateful for that.”
Menezes emphasized the importance of company structure and sponsorship in making mobility possible for women. “You need a sponsor. Someone who believes you can do it, who’s willing to bet on you,” she said. “If I hadn’t had that support, I’m not sure I ever would’ve been invited to go.”
To other women considering international assignments, she said: “Be curious. Meet local people, not just colleagues. And be clear-eyed about the balance. You can’t both have high-demand careers and relocate a family without tradeoffs. But with the right support, it’s possible.”