The collection of articles in this edited volume spotlights new directions in research and public policy. The focus on health and social care and academia allows to access change 'in action', because these fields face rapid transformations. Across countries there is an increasing scepticism on the self-governing capacity of professions to act in the interests of a diverse population, while at the same time a number of new professional groups are emerging. Notions of changing governance practices, organisational change and professional discourse and identity recur in the articles and are explored from different perspectives. The research presented here brings together scholars from different countries, including Nordic, continental European and Anglo-Saxon welfare systems and the United States; this is complemented by views from India on gender equality in science, politics and health care.