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 genderrelated ramifications of the excellence in research initiatives and the definition of scientific excellence as early as and established the expert group gender and excellence which studied research funding in european countries in a gender perspective eu 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