Zoie Rittling — What It's Really Like Being a Woman in Automation

In the season opener, Zoie Rittling (Teguar) gets candid about what it's actually like being a woman in industrial automation — the trade shows where she's ignored while training the guys next to her, the unconscious bias most men in the industry don't realize they're carrying, and what's actually actionable if you want to help. Then the conversation shifts into her expertise: edge compute, machine vision, and where the hardware is heading in 2026.**In this episode:**- Why a single LinkedIn comment sparked a larger women-in-automation conversation- The trade-show pattern Zoie has seen play out over and over- A concrete answer to "what can men in the industry actually do?"- How edge AI + machine vision are sorting potatoes mid-air on a conveyor- What specs customers are asking for in rugged industrial PCs right now- Zoie's path from visual arts to software to industrial salesZoie Rittling is in Business Development at Teguar — industrial and rugged computing hardware for manufacturing, energy, food & beverage, and machine vision applications. Catch Teguar at Automate 2026 (Chicago, June) and ICC 2026 (Sacramento, September).If you listen to the end, drop a review. It's how new listeners find the show.#ZackScrivenPodcast #AutomationMonth2026 #WomenInAutomation #EdgeCompute #IndustrialAutomation #Manufacturing