King's Global Institute for Women's Leadership

Why are young women increasingly left-wing? And how it could change politics

"this general leftwards trend amongst women is much more pronounced for those under 30, and has magnified in recent years. According to the European Social Survey the gap is still widening, with teenage girls moving even further left"

➡️ samf.substack.com/p/why-are-yo...

Two early-career researchers win prestigious Leverhulme Fellowships The Leverhulme Trust has awarded Early Career Fellowships to Dr Byungdoo Kim and Dr Hyojin Seo, who will carry out their research projects at King’s Business School.

🎉 We're delighted that The Leverhulme Trust has awarded an Early Career Fellowship to Dr Hyojin Seo, who will join us in 2026 to explore how digitalisation is creating a new form of precarity, particularly for women – who remain overrepresented in precarious work.

➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/two-ear...

Two King's Business School academics on HR magazine's 'Most Influential' list Professors Heejung Chung and Kim Hoque are named among the top thought leaders by a key industry title.

"the insights in her book have been described as essential for HR leaders designing people-centric policies"

We're delighted to see HR Magazine name GIWL Director @heejungchung.bsky.social in their ‘Most Influential’ list for this year.

➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/two-kin...

Attention King's Students!

Deadline: tomorrow!

Honour the legacy of Brenda Trenowden CBE by submitting your feminist analysis essay for publication and prizes up to £600.

➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/brenda-t...

🌈 This Pride Month, we stand in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ communities across the globe.

In a time of rising hostility and regression, we reaffirm that gender equality must include all genders, identities and expressions.

We’re in a ‘global fertility crisis’. Does this woman have a solution? Countries across the world are fretting about falling birthrates. Now one academic believes she’s discovered the cause – and has a plan to address it

“If you want to maintain our current standard of living and if you want to maintain economic growth, this is something we should take extremely seriously”

GIWL affiliate Dr Alice Evans in @thetimes.com on implications and solutions to the global fertility crisis

➡️ www.thetimes.com/life-style/s...

Study ANY subject at King's?

Apply feminist analysis in your coursework? Submit to the Brenda Trenowden Essay Prize by June 27th!

Winners published in Feminist Perspectives + cash prizes of £600/£300/£100.

➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/brenda-t...

Why under-30s are ditching WFH Tamara Salloum is one of a growing number of Gen Z workers who prefer life in the office

“Anyone facing a return to office mandate should hold their ground – resistance is more than reasonable...In the UK at least, flexibility is the norm – and will continue to be so."

@heejungchung.bsky.social is quoted in the Telegraph on trends in working from home

UG & PGT students at Kings College – the Brenda Trenowden Feminist Analysis Essay Prize wants YOUR academic work!

£600 first prize, publication opportunity, and a special award ceremony.

Submit your existing coursework by June 27th.

➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/brenda-t...

Women’s political leadership declines, with fewer women in executive office in 2025 | UN Women – Headquarters Fewer women hold top political offices in 2025. UN Women reports rising barriers, political violence and setbacks in gender equality in leadership worldwide.

"...women’s political leadership in executive positions is not merely stagnating – it is regressing."

➡️ www.unwomen.org/en/news-stor...

Gender equality is not a zero-sum game: What the new Gender Equality Index tells us WBG's Emma Thackray shares some first Insights from the new Gender Equality Index.

"One of the most important findings...may not come as a surprise to those working in the field, but is incredibly powerful to have backed by solid, empirical evidence: gender equality is not a zero-sum game"

@womensbudgetgrp.bsky.social on our Gender Equality Index (genderequalityindex.uk)

A new report from @commonswec.parliament.uk confirms what working parents already know: our system is outdated, unequal, and exclusionary.

UK fathers get just 2 weeks of leave. Mothers can get 52.

This entrenches outdated gender roles and widens the gender pay gap

"...even just speaking about women and men feels more fraught than it ever has, and I've written about this for a long time"

@lexytopping.bsky.social at our panel event last week, discussing @cordeliafine.bsky.social's new book, Patriarchy Inc

➡️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1yV...

🎓 Scholarship opportunity

Are you a woman in business, thinking about studying the King’s Executive MBA? Did you know that offer holders can apply for our Women Excelling in Business scholarship?

➡️ If you’re ready to take the next step, get in contact with us: www.kcl.ac.uk/business/exe...

"...patriarchy also limits our freedom, it limits what we can do and who we can be"

Last night @cordeliafine.bsky.social joined us and an expert panel to discuss her new book Patriarchy Inc

Full event ➡️ www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1yV...

Tonight we are joined by @cordeliafine.bsky.social discussing her new book 'Patriarchy Inc: What We Get Wrong About Gender Equality and Why Men Still Win at Work', with Jeremy Davies, Aneeta Rattan, @lexytopping.bsky.social, and
@heejungchung.bsky.social

📺 Live: www.youtube.com/live/A1yVl29...

South Korea gender divide update 😲

Young men lean right by 50 points
(74% conservative vs 24% centre-left)

Young women lean left by 22 points
(58% centre-left vs 36% cons)

The Brenda Trenowden Essay Prize is accepting submissions from ALL King's students.

Top 3 winners receive cash prizes AND publication.

Already written the essay? Just submit by June 27th!

➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/brenda-t...

"If you ask workers right now 'what is the most important thing when you look fora job?'... they talk about flexibility, work life balance as the very top items"

@heejungchung.bsky.social spoke to @roysocmed.bsky.social last week about the challenges and opportunities of the changing workplace

How the war of the sexes is changing politics forever Differences in education, pay and media habits are dividing men and women’s voting behaviour. But the consequences go beyond the ballot box

"A lot of young men feel like, 'We’re actually in a worse state than women.'"

@heejungchung.bsky.social is quoted in this Telegraph long read on the gender divide in political attitudes and behaviour now seen in many countries around the world

Why money and power affects male self-esteem What we earn can affect our mental wellbeing, especially when we compare ourselves to those around us – and it can negatively influence male mental health.

"@heejungchung.bsky.social told me that one reason these attitudes are creeping in is because young women are now more likely to be university educated than young men."

Our director discusses why some young men are now rejecting arguments for gender equality in this BBC long read

"The genie is out of the bottle, you can't put it back in, flexibility is now a baseline expectation"

@heejungchung.bsky.social speaking at the launch of our latest report on return-to-office mandates and what is at stake for workers, companies, and gender equality.

➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/uk-work...

"People can't stop working from home once they've started, they have logistics with kids, with pets, with lives"

Times Radio on our latest report

➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/uk-work...

Fewer workers would comply with a return-to-office mandate Less than half of UK workers would comply with full-time return to office mandates, according to researchers at King’s College London.

"Women were the most likely to resist returning to the office, with 64% saying they would quit straight away or seek alternative employment, compared to 51% of men."

Personnel Today on our latest report

Working from home is here to stay — if workers get their way Half of staff would look for a new job if forced to return to the office full-time, a new report has found amid increasing struggles over WFH

“...organisations should be looking to formalise hybrid models, invest in remote collaboration tools, and set up coordinated in-office days to maximise engagement”

@heejungchung.bsky.social on our new report on return-to-office requirements, in @thetimes.com

➡️ www.thetimes.com/business-mon...

Health and employment in transition: Challenges in a changing era This event addresses the pressing challenges and opportunities facing professionals in occupational health and related fields.

💡 Our director, @heejungchung.bsky.social, is delivering the morning keynote on flexible working and wellbeing at this Society of Occupational Medicine event, "Health and employment in transition: Challenges in a changing era" ⬇️

Join us tomorrow at 1pm for a webinar where we will unpack our findings and discuss broader trends with an expert panel of @heejungchung.bsky.social, Shiyu Yuan, @juliahobsbawm.bsky.social, @emmavj.bsky.social & Ellen Scott

➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/events/retur...

We also find that Black and minority ethnic workers are more likely to comply with return-to-office mandates, raising questions about discrimination and job security

Some parents in particular are increasingly resistant to office mandates: 53% of fathers of school-age children now say they’d quit or look for a new job if their employer tried to force them back full-time – up from 38% in 2022

Women are more likely to resist, with 64% saying they would quit straight away or seek alternative employment, compared to 51% of men