Highlights from WiCS+E March Event: Building Inclusive Computational Skills
This year we hosted an inspiring Women in Cognitive Science – Widening Inclusivity in Cognitive Science (WiCS+E) March event, with over 80 participants joining online to discuss gender gaps in coding and modeling, and how to address barriers to improve research methods and foster interdisciplinary careers.
Three speakers joined the conversation with different perspectives:
- Ana Paqui Palenciano (University of Granada)
- Alina Herderich (University of Graz)
- Cecilia Baldoni (Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior)
Through their contributions, the discussion highlighted several key messages aimed at motivating researchers to engage with programming and computational methods.
Why This Conversation Matters
We began by revisiting a persistent issue: women remain underrepresented in technical and computational roles, including coding and modeling in cognitive science, even though performance differences do not explain this gap.
Instead, research points to factors such as confidence, self-efficacy, stereotypes, and the learning environment. Supportive teaching and mentorship can make a measurable difference in participation and persistence.
This is precisely why this event was organised: to discuss how education, community, and open practices can help close the gender gap and build more inclusive computational spaces.
Selected literature:
- O’Dea, R. E., Lagisz, M., Jennions, M. D., & Nakagawa, S. (2018). Gender differences in individual variation in academic grades fail to fit expected patterns for STEM. Nature Communications, 9(1), 3777. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-06292-0
- Liu, S., Dai, Y., Ng, O. L., & Cai, Z. (2025). Gender Disparity in Computational Thinking Pedagogy and Assessment: A Three-Level Meta-Analysis. Educational Psychology Review, 37(4), 114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-10095-3
Key Points from the Speakers
💻 Do We Really Need to Learn How to Program?
Ana Paqui’s short answer: Yes.
Programming increases:
- Control
- Flexibility
- Automaticity
- Precision
- Transparency
- Reproducibility in science
However, access to programming is not neutral. Stereotypes around “who a programmer is” (male, brilliant, socially awkward, white…) often collide with stereotypes about psychologists (empathetic, caregiving, “soft science”). These colliding stereotypes shape confidence and self-perception long before actual performance does.
Therefore, there is a need to “reprogramme” these stereotypes.
Strategies discussed to widen access to programming:
- Early exposure: integrating programming and computational skills into psychology degrees (BSc level or earlier)
- Addressing the “elephant in the room”: explicitly teaching about gender gaps and stereotypes
- Diversifying role models in computational teaching and mentorship
- Fighting structural barriers that limit real access to programming training
Initiatives showing that change is possible:
- Programming in Psychological Science – A Practical Introduction
- SheCodesPsy (3-day immersive course for female+ psychology students)
- How to Start Your Coding Club
🧠 Interdisciplinarity in Action
Alina Herderich and Cecilia Baldoni shared their personal research journeys combining psychology and computer science.
Key messages from Alina:
- Finding a project that matters to you helps motivate learning new tools and skills.
- Don’t ask what Computer Science can do for you — ask what you can do for Computer Science.
- Cognitive Science expertise is not secondary — it is essential for meaningful, theory-driven computational research.
Cecilia highlighted additional points:
- The skills vs. self-evaluation gap is real: many researchers underestimate their skills, especially those from underrepresented groups.
- Get involved in coding and open science communities (online or in person).
- If you don’t ask questions, people cannot help you.
- Don’t wait until you feel like an “expert” — start contributing and learning through participation.
- Sharing the messy reality of code development helps make the field more inclusive.
Slides and Materials
All slides and materials from the WiCS+E March event are available here:
WiCS+E March Event 2026 – Slides and Materials
🤖 What About LLMs and AI?
During the Q&A session, we also discussed the growing role of large language models and AI in programming and research.
- Yes, use LLMs — but do not trust outputs blindly
- Avoid copy–paste learning when you are starting
- Learn the basics first, then integrate AI strategically
Ways to contribute and join communities:
- Contribute to open science initiatives (e.g., The Turing Way)
- Contribute to tools you use (e.g., PsychoPy)
- Join your local R-Ladies+ chapter
You can also sign up for the PsychoPy workshop (March 9th):
PsychoPy for WiCS Series – My First Pull Request
Explore the Micro-Degree in Artificial Intelligence and Society (University of Graz):
AI and Society Microcredential
Closing
Thank you to all speakers and participants for such a rich discussion.
Building inclusive computational skills in cognitive science is not optional — it is part of building better science.
Special thanks to PsychoPy for organising additional workshops during March to commemorate Women’s Month. You can find all the information and enrollment details here: Workshop information and registration
#WomenInScience #CognitiveScience #Programming #OpenScience #Interdisciplinarity #WiCS