This book has been developed within the framework of the research project ‘Gender Equality and Welfare Politics in Scandinavia’, which was part of the Welfare Research Programme (Velferdsforskningsprogrammet) run by the Nordic Council of Ministers for the period 2000–05. Initially, we would like to express our gratitude towards the Council for its generous funding of the project, funds primarily used as research grants, and sponsoring of recurrent working seminars, which made Scandinavian cooperation and comparison possible. We want to underline that the book to a great extent is a collective product, and to direct our sincere appreciation to all participants for interesting discussions and very good cooperation. We are also very pleased and grateful that two well-known welfare researchers kindly agreed to comment on the book: Keith Pringle, who also attended our final working seminar, and Ruth Lister, who read and commented afterwards. You have both been of great help! Annette Andersen has been of invaluable assistance in the last phase of the project, proofreading and adapting the entire manuscript to the house style of The Policy Press. Thank you very much indeed, Annette! Last but not least, it has been a pleasure working with The Policy Press. We really appreciate the fact that we always met with professional treatment, and in a most personal and friendly manner.