Harley-Davidson announced on Monday that it is ending its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, after the motorcycle and apparel company’s embrace of progressive dogma sparked an online backlash.
“We are saddened by the negativity on social media over the last few weeks, designed to divide the Harley-Davidson community,” the company wrote in a statement. “As a Company, we take this issue very seriously, and it is our responsibility to respond with clarity, action and facts.”
In the announcement, Harley-Davidson said that now all sponsorship activities must be centrally approved and managed by either the company or the Harley-Davidson Foundation. Going forward, Harley-Davidson will not participate in scoring by the Human Rights Campaign, which issues a Corporate Equality Index that requires a company adhere to progressive policies for a high score.
Harley-Davidson claimed on Monday that it has not operated a DEI function since April, 2024, and does not have one today. The company also said it no longer has supplier diversity spending goals, and its “business employee resources groups” will focus exclusively on “professional development, networking and mentoring.” Those affinity groups previously included African American, Latina, Asian, and LGBT+.
The statement by Harley-Davidson comes after conservative activist Robby Starbuck posted on social media that “it’s time to expose Harley Davidson” and argued that “they’ve gone totally woke.” Starbuck claimed, among other things, that Harley-Davidson sponsored various LGBTQ-themed programs, funded an all-ages pride-themed event that featured a “rage room” next to a drag queen story time, and had 1,800 employees complete virtual training on how to become LGBTQ+ allies.
“I don’t think the values at corporate reflect the values of nearly any Harley Davidson bikers,” Starbuck wrote in a post on Twitter/X that now has over 26,000 reposts and nearly 3 million views. “Do Harley riders want the money they spend at Harley to be used later by corporate to push an ideology that’s diametrically opposed to their own values?”
According to Harley-Davidson’s 2022 “Inclusive Stakeholder Management Report,” the company sponsored a wide range of trainings and workshops focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Nearly 1,500 employees participated in a “two-part Inclusion & Belonging workshop” where the instructor “shared captivating visual examples of how racial justice and democracy have intersected in the U.S. throughout the past two centuries.” The report also stated that approximately 70 employees participated in a summit held by the “White Men as Full Diversity Partners,” which brands itself as a “white-male-only learning experience. . . on race, gender, white male culture, and courageous leadership.”
Although the statement Harley-Davidson released on Monday claims the company never had hiring quotas, its 2022 report noted that the company had a “goal to increase women and underrepresented talent in the manager and above salaried workforce,” and that “women and unrepresented talent” accounted for just over 50 precent of new hires that year.
Harley-Davidson joins John Deere and Tractor Supply as companies that have axed diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.