Within the Nordic "paradise for women" (Fougner & Asp‐Larsen [ 2]) there have for decades appeared critical feminist analyses of gender equality, growing in intensity since the 1990s. Today numerous critics point out the discursive and/or ideological (in the Gramscian sense) nature and deployment of Nordic gender equality (cf. NORA 2/2002). This Special Issue of NORA on Critical studies of Nordic discourses on gender and gender equality offers examples of current feminist scholarly thinking on how Nordic gender and gender equality are constructed.