Iconic motorcycle brand scraps woke diversity policies after boycott threats
Harley became the latest big American brand to distance itself from the controversial rules
Getty/Reuters
Iconic motorbike maker Harley-Davidson has been forced to abandon a range of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) targets following a large-scale social media outcry.
Harley became the latest big American brand to distance itself from the controversial rules after anti-DEI activist Robby Starbuck led an online campaign and boycott against what he called an adoption of "the woke agenda of the very far left" by the company.
The motorcycle manufacturer released a statement reassuring customers that it had "not operated a DEI function" since April 2024, nor did it have one today.
Harley-Davidson continued that it was "saddened by the negativity on social media" - but claimed the campaign was a move "designed to divide" its community.
Reuters
However, it then proceeded to announce various outcomes of a review from earlier this year - several of which involved killing off its diversity initiatives.
The motorbike maker said it would be pulling out of the Human Rights Campaign's (HRC's) "scoring" system, the Corporate Equality Index - which calls itself the "national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees" in the US.
It also pledged to remove any "socially motivated content" from its in-house staff training materials.
But the firm said it believed that "having both a broad employee and customer base is good for business and that ultimately everybody should experience the joy of riding a Harley-Davidson".
MORE WOKE MADNESS:
We’ve done it again. pic.twitter.com/OcPz2jCk7L
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) August 19, 2024
In response, Starbuck claimed "we've done it again" as he shared a meme to social media of himself, depicted as the Grim Reaper, knocking on "woke" corporations' doors and leaving behind a bloody trail.
He had previously told Bloomberg that it was "time to get rid of these policies and bring back a sense of neutrality and sanity in corporate America".
His boycott effort had spurred some individual retailers to speak out against the campaigner - one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania told Bloomberg he was a "politician just trying to get clicks".
He added: "My business in non-political. You are welcome to come here if you're a Democrat, a Republican, or independent, we don’t even look at that... It's about riding motorcycles and having fun."
Reuters
The decision drew considerable ire from the HRC itself, with its vice president for programmes and corporate advocacy, Eric Bloem, telling Newsweek it sent a signal to staff that their employer "simply don't care about equality in the workplace."
Bloem added that it was "an impulsive decision fuelled by fringe right-wing actors and MAGA extremists who believe they can bully their way into dismantling initiatives that help everyone thrive in the workplace".
Some right-wing influencers continued their pile-on into the motorcycle brand even after their announcement, prompting more moderate figures on the right to counsel calmness.
Christopher F Rufo, a senior fellow at conservative think tank the Manhattan Institute, said: "Conservatives: Now is the time to praise, rather than attack, Harley-Davidson."