An electric machine includes a winding yoke defining a plurality of winding slots between circumferentially spaced apart teeth. A respective winding separator is mounted within each of the winding slots. The winding separator is mounted to a keying feature that extends from the winding yoke into the winding slot. The winding yoke can be a laminated structure, wherein the teeth and keying features are part of a common laminated structure with the winding yoke. The winding yoke can be a stator, and a rotor can be mounted within the stator for rotary movement relative to the stator.