According to the study, ten years of excellence in research policy in Swedish research funding has had serious negative consequences for gender equality in academia. It also appears that these initiatives have so far avoided an analysis of the measures they themselves have planned to initiate to improve gender equality. The European Commission focused attention on the gender-related ramifications of the excellence in research initiatives and the definition of scientific excellence as early as 200440 and established the expert group "Gender and Excellence", which studied research funding in 33 European countries in a gender perspective (EU 2008). There is good reason to raise the issue of quality criteria and excellence in research in the Nordic countries and at the joint Nordic level as well.