Lena Sommestad earned a PhD in Economic History from Uppsala University, where she also served as professor. In 2002 she went into politics, holding elected and appointed positions in the Swedish government. Her primary interests are in gender equality, sustainable development, and the social democratic model of the welfare state. Grey Osterud holds a PhD in American Civilization from Brown University. In addition to working as an editor, she has written two books and numerous articles on farm women in 19th- and 20th-century New York and coedited a book on rural women’s studies. Her recent work focuses on Scandinavia.