New study suggests you might be better at coding than you realise

Study dispels stereotype that coding is only for 'nerdy boys'

(Juan Mabromata/AFP/Getty Images)

Problem solving skills and language abilities are far more important for learning to code than being good at math, according to a new study.

Researchers at the University of Washington found that people with a natural aptitude for learning languages and communicating ideas found it easier to learn the coding language Python than those with numeracy skills.

The data contradicts common stereotypes surrounding coding and computer science and could help encourage more women into the STEM subjects, the researchers said.

"Many barriers to programming, from prerequisite courses to stereotypes of what a good programmer looks like, are centred around the idea that programming relies heavily on math abilities, and that idea is not born out in our data," said Chantel Prat, lead author of the study and associate professor of psychology at the University of Washington.

"Learning to program is hard, but is increasingly important for obtaining skilled positions in the workforce. Information about what it takes to be good at programming is critically missing in a field that has been notoriously slow in closing the gender gap."

Governments, corporations and organisations around the world have made efforts to address the so-called digital gender divide, with the issue a key focus on International Women's Day in 2019.

The initiatives highlight the need to empower girls with the necessary computer and STEM skills in order to prepare future generations for the workforce and fix the imbalance.

Code.org, a non-profit coding organisation, said the stereotype that coding is only for "nerdy boys" is "a prime reason girls avoid computer science".

College-level programming courses typically require advanced math qualifications in order to apply. Previous studies have shown that such requirements reinforce stereotypes that coding and programming is a masculine field.

The latest study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, shows that the the cognitive skills required are linked more to language learning aptitude and a person's working memory than math knowledge, which the researchers hop could help dismantle gender misconceptions.

Dr Prat said: "Ultimately, [the results of the study] might be uses culture-free measures of how someone learns."