John Deere's Kristina Voyna forges inclusion in the workplace

Meet Kristina Voyna. She's a Diversity & Inclusion Region Lead and Program Manager at John Deere.

Kristina enjoys having the opportunity to bring her whole unique self to work, and finding ways to impact inclusion and equity in the workplace.

Enjoying extensive employee resource group experiences

Kristina started out working in Human Resources (HR) within John Deere, but she soon realized that she wanted to get closer to the business.

"I spent some time in a factory in parts supply, and then worked closely with parts departments at dealerships on inventory management optimization," explains Kristina.

"After that, I had an opportunity to return to HR and so I managed the pension administration, moved to an HR-related communications role as Learning & Development Manager, worked on the integrated talent management team as a Project Manager, and ultimately made my way to my role as Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Region Lead and Project Manager. It was due to my extensive employee resource group experience and education that I was provided with the opportunity to join the team."

Championing for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workforce

Kristina's role is largely spent measuring, educating, and assisting leaders and employees in championing for diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workforce. "Ultimately, I want every employee to be able to fully contribute to the success of the company and feel highly valued while doing so," she says.

Kristina's knowledge in human behavior – both as someone with a doctorate in Human & Organizational Psychology, as well as an adjunct professor in Social Psychology – is invaluable. She finds one of her best strengths for this role is the ability to listen; next is the ability to share stories with impact.

"I’m most proud of being a founding member of the Rainbow (LGBTQ) employee resource group," shares Kristina. "Helping to benchmark, provide the business case and value, and help get things started, ultimately serving as a chair for the group – was part of my favorite work at John Deere."

Kristina enjoys the fact that John Deere is a company with a rich history and strong core values. "We also have some of the best people, both as productive employees and simply great individuals. It’s the colleagues I’ve made and network I’ve grown to rely on at Deere that make this a great place to work."

Trying new policies and practices to improve equity and inclusion

Looking at getting more women into roles like hers, Kristina says: "We simply need to challenge ourselves to grow and evolve in the DEI space. It's important to try new policies and practices to improve equity and inclusion. Here we show women that John Deere is a place where women of all races and ethnicities can come and thrive, like I did! I’ve grown up with the company and am grateful for all the rich experiences I’ve had throughout my career so far."

Kristina's advice to women looking to work with John Deere is "Be yourself and go for it. We need even more women who aren’t afraid to be themselves and help pave a way for future talent."