Harley-Davidson has decided to drop its DEI and pro-LGBT initiatives, becoming the latest company to outright reject woke corporate policies. The move comes after the company faced criticism from its customer-base in recent months.

The company received strong disapproval from conservatives back in July, when activist Robby Starbuck exposed the company’s LGBT- and DEI-focused initiatives, the Daily Wire reports.

Harley-Davidson then released an open letter on August 19, citing “negativity on social media over the last few weeks” as an impetus for corporate reflection.

“As a Company, we take this issue very seriously, and it is our responsibility to respond with clarity, action and facts,” the letter says.

The business disclosed it began an internal stakeholder review earlier this year to better align its activities to the needs of its business and community.

Based on that review, Harley-Davidson detailed it is committed to reversing course on the following:

• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI): “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.”
• Sponsorship and affiliation: “As a consumer brand, we will focus exclusively on growing the sport of motorcycling and retaining our loyal riding community, in addition to the support we already provide to first responders, active military members and veterans. … Harley-Davidson will not participate in Human Rights Campaign scoring going forward.”
• Employee Training: “Training provided will be related to the needs of the business and be absent of social motivated content – only legally required training has ever been mandatory at Harley-Davidson.”

These are very critical announcements. At a time when most corporations quickly acquiesce to pressure from activists and organizations on the Left, and promote DEI and pro-LGBT workshops, policies and goals, Harley-Davidson is riding a different direction.

“We believe 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,” the company added. “We remain committed to listening to all members of our community as we continue on our journey together as the most desirable motorcycle brand in the world.”

Starbuck said in a post on Monday, “Another win for our movement. I couldn’t do this without all of you.”

Harley-Davidson’s announcement that it will no longer participate in HRC’s corporate scorecard is especially worth applauding. HRC is the largest gay- and transgender-activist organization in the world. It publishes an annual “Corporate Equality Index” which rates workplaces on “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Equality.”

And just last month, Tractor Supply Co. announced that it would no longer submit data to the Human Rights Campaign, eliminate DEI roles, retire its DEI goals and withdraw its carbon emission goals.

Thanks to pressure applied by conservative activists and consumers, at least two companies have pumped the breaks on a seemingly-never-ending snowball of increasing corporate wokeness.

There’s an important lesson here. When discerning consumers express their opinions with their voices and their wallets, they can indeed enact positive change.

Many Americans just want to enjoy their motorcycle ride without a political agenda riding alongside them. Let’s hope more companies will follow suit.

Related articles and resources:

Three Cheers for Tractor Supply Unhitching from Corporate Wokeness

Oklahoma Bans DEI in Universities and Government Agencies

BLM at School – How a Day Encouraging Parental Educational Involvement Was Overshadowed by a Week of Radical Ideology

Disney and Other Corporations Find Wokeness Bad for Bottom Line

Is ‘Critical Race Theory’ Being Taught in Public Schools? CRT Deniers Claim it Isn’t

Monique Duson: ‘Biblically Faithful and Sane Conversations on Race, Justice and Unity’

Human Rights Campaign Releases Report Showing Enormous Corporate Support for LGBT-Identified Individuals

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