And with this post I’m excited to announce that the official website for UnveilGBD – Investigating Gender-Based Discrimination is now online. Yay!
Although the project officially started in July 2024, this website is, for me, a new small step ahead. After months of work designing the study, collecting data, this is a space designed for sharing data, updates, and insights on the project
UnveilGBD is hosted by Vilnius University and funded by the Horizon Europe ERA Fellowships. The aim of the research is to explore the mechanisms underlying gender-based discrimination through cross-cultural analysis.
Here, I’ll share key findings, publications, blog entries, and project milestones. I hope it will become not only an archive of what I’m building but also a space for sharing news about discrimination—with scholars, students, and curious minds.
Thank you for being here.
Why I’m Launching This Website Now
Almost a year has passed. In these months, I’ve designed the study, refined the theoretical model, and navigated the (scary!) logistics of doing research across Italy and Lithuania.
When I started UnveilGBD in July 2024, I knew I was about to begin a challenging chapter for me as a researcher. Despite my experience in gender-based violence, working on precursors (the factors underlying discrimination) is not the same. I was certain that I would need time to let the project take shape while I myself learned to work in a context, Lithuania, that was new to me.
I started with qualitative research and was able to draw my first thoughts, not only on the content and data of the research, but also on the difficulties involved in such a project. This is my first experience with this kind of qualitative research and it was a challenge for me and my work as a researcher.
That’s why the website is only being launched now, halfway through: I wanted it to reflect the real pace of research, not just its results. And, sometimes, the pace of research can be longer than expected.
UnveilGBD brings together two key frameworks: the Predictive Brain model (Clark; 2013) and the Culture in Mind (Hinton; 2017). Through them, I explore how people interpret gendered cues, regulate emotions, and sometimes reproduce—often unconsciously—harmful biases and behaviours.
From these research questions, the goal is to find a practical outcome to the findings: to create policies, educational programmes. To have a concrete impact.
That is why I see this website as an invitation to follow the project in real time, to share thoughts and to reflect together on how discrimination operates and how it could be stopped.
Thank you for being here. I hope this becomes a space not just for information, but for dialogue.