In Kenya, Jill Biden emphasizes: ‘I am a working woman’

First lady Jill Biden on Friday participated in a women’s empowerment reception during her visit to Kenya, emphasizing her position as a working woman.

“When women earn money — nothing better, right? We invest it in our families. And I know that because I am a working woman,” Biden said at the reception at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi.

Biden has continued teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College while serving as first lady.

Her trip to Africa is focused on engagements about women’s and youth empowerment and gender-based violence. While in Kenya, she will look at the impacts of drought on families and communities. 

“When we come together as partners, when we can when we come together to work against injustice, we can repair what's broken and we can build something new,” Biden said. “Thank you for the courage that it takes to run for office, to push science to new places, to create a business to climb to new heights.”

She said women have had to fight for a seat at the table and turned to U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman — “And Meg, I'm sure no one knows that better than you.” Whitman is the the former CEO of Quibi and Hewlett Packard and was the Republican nominee for governor of California in 2010.

Biden arrived in Kenya earlier on Friday and met at the state house with first lady Rachel Ruto, who also greeted her at the airport. The African trip is the first lady’s sixth overall visit to the continent and third to Kenya, where she will stay until she returns to the White House on Sunday. 

“This is my third visit to Kenya,” she said at the embassy. “I have incredible memories here. In fact, I told my granddaughter Naomi that coming here changed my life. And that's why she wanted to join me. So it's wonderful to be back and I you know, I could ask for a warmer welcome.”

Jill and Naomi Biden were in Namibia on Wednesday and Thursday. There, the first lady visited Hope Initiatives Southern Africa-Namibia with U.S. Ambassador to Namibia Randy Berry and met with Namibian President Hage Geingob and first lady Monica Geingos.

President Biden announced at the end of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in December that he will travel to sub-Saharan Africa later this year. He said at the time that there will also be visits to Africa from other officials, including his wife.