Harley Davidson Backtracks on DEI Policies After Backlash

Harley-Davidson announced that it would pull back from enforcing its corporate Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policy after the famed American motorcycle manufacturer faced severe backlash from consumers and conservative activists.

The motorcycle firm said it would halt efforts to impose DEI on Aug. 19, making it the latest major corporation to pull back from woke ideology. John Deere did so weeks ago.

“We remain committed to listening to all members of our community,” the company wrote in a letter posted on X. “We are saddened by the negativity on social media over the last few weeks, designed to divide the Harley-Davidson community."

Regarding its DEI policies, Harley-Davidson added that “we have not operated a DEI function since April 2024, and we do not have a DEI function today. We do not have hiring quotas and we no longer have supplier diversity spend goals.”

According to CNN, the Milwaukee-based motorcycle maker said it would review all sponsorships and outside organizations that they are affiliated with and will set up a central clearinghouse to review those partnerships.

Harley-Davidson, which has a generally conservative-leaning client demographic, said it would also terminate its relationship with the Human Rights Campaign, a major gay advocacy organization. The firm said it may further drop its sponsorship of Gay Pride festivals and focus more on highlighting motorcycling events, after being a longtime member of the Wisconsin LBGT Chamber of Commerce.

This is another win for Robby Starbuck, a conservative activist who helped lead the charge against DEI initiatives at other major American corporations.

Last month, Tractor Supply and John Deere pulled the plug on their corporate DEI goals and hiring policies and said they would review their training materials after Starbuck led an online campaign against their woke agenda. The two firms also pulled their support for carbon emission targets and "LGBTQ+ Pride" propaganda, as well as for left-wing social and cultural awareness events.

Starbuck first exposed Harley-Davidson's pro-DEI policies on July 23 on X. “It’s time to expose Harley Davidson,” he tweeted while putting out a list of about 20 things the manufacturer has done to become "totally woke.”

He revealed the company's sponsorship of a boot camp for "LGBTQ+" entrepreneurs, its corporate donations to United Way, and a plan to boost diversity in its workforce in the name of expanding its client base to other demographics.

Starbuck also noted that the company's German CEO, Jochen Zeitz, only joined the board of Harley-Davidson to make the American icon more woke and inclusive. "The CEO of @harleydavidson says he became the “Taliban” in “a sustainable way” when he became a board member and admitted he’s “trying to take on capitalism and redefine it," Starbuck posted on X.

The conservative activist posted a video of the Harley-Davidson CEO vowing to force his radical agenda onto the company and its traditional client base. In the video, Zeitz bragged that he and his supporters had “a better way of doing business… that is not just profitable from a financial point of view but also from a social and environmental point of view.”

Starbuck also exposed Zeitz's plan to ship U.S. manufacturing overseas to Thailand at the expense of American jobs, after pledging to "never build bikes overseas for the US market."

After the latest victory, Starbuck celebrated on X, saying, "We’re winning and we WILL make corporations sane again. You’re going to love what comes next. Get on board or get out of the way."

"Another win for our movement. I couldn’t do this without all of you. @harleydavidson just issued this statement where they promise," Starbuck said in another tweet, adding, "Harley-Davidson corporate can be sad all they want but our movement gets results."

"If you want to expose the company you work at for woke policies, DM me with evidence or ask for our email address for tips," he continued.