Harley Caves to “Anti-Woke” Activists

On Monday, Harley-Davidson announced that they were caving to pressure from “anti-woke” activists, led in part by conservative influencer Robby Starbuck, who posted a call to action on X (Twitter) last month accusing the company head, Jochen Zeitz, of a litany of inexcusably “woke” behavior.

Zeitz’s crimes, the post says, include supporting a transition from fossil fuels, addressing climate change, targeting sustainability, increasing workplace diversity, fighting misinformation, supporting Trans-inclusive bathroom access, and forming a nonprofit to help migrants in Europe rebuild their lives.

In an accompanying video Starbuck complained that Harley-Davidson, under Zeitz, was given a 90 percent rating by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), donated to United Way, recognized Black and Women’s History Month, and sponsored a boot camp for LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs.

What a monster!

“The @harleydavidson board needs to remove him if they want to save the company,” Starbuck posted. “If he’s not gone, we all know these policies aren’t leaving. At best they’ll be renamed.” This quickly took off with incel idols on social media.

Sean Strickland, an MMA fighter, also posted a video. Wearing a shirt reading “A Woman In Every Kitchen, A Gun In Every Hand,” he claimed to be ditching his Harley-Davidson, called Zeitz a “zealot,” and asked if he should sell his Harley-Davidson or “blow it up with a machine gun.”

‘That said…’

The statement Harley-Davidson posted to social media said “we are saddened by the negativity on social media over the last few weeks, designed to divide the Harley-Davidson community.” It continued that an “internal stakeholder review” had taken place earlier in the year, based on which several commitments were made.

It said an employee base must reflect its customers and geographies, and that “it is critical to our business that we hire and retain the best talent and that all employees feel welcome.”
Then Harley-Davidson hedged.

“That said, 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,” it said, adding that Business Employee Resource Groups (BERGs) will, moving forward, “exclusively focus on professional development, networking and mentoring,” and that all sponsorships will now be centrally reviewed and limited to motorcycling.

In the only direct reference made to another entity, it added that “Harley-Davidson will not participate in HRC scoring going forward.”

This is in reference to the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Corporate Equality Index, for which 1,384 companies (with 500 or more employees) actively participated this year. Companies are rated annually across three categories of criteria: non-discrimination policies, equitable benefits for LGBTQ+ workers and their families, and supporting an inclusive culture and social responsibility.

For 2022-2023, Harley-Davidson received a score of 80 (out of 100). For 2023-2024, their score dropped — to 45. Though they are still listed as a Platinum Founding Member level corporate partner of the Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce — a partnership that has stood for over a decade — it seems this and many other local outreach initiatives by Harley-Davidson will likely soon expire.

“Decisions to cut Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives send a clear signal to employees that their employers simply don’t care about equality in the workplace. Putting politics ahead of workers and consumers only hurts the same folks that these businesses rely on,” said HRC vice president of programs and corporate advocacy, Eric Bloem. “Harley-Davidson’s choice to back away from the Corporate Equality Index is an impulsive decision fueled 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.

“With nearly 30 percent of Gen Z identifying as LGBTQ+ and the community wielding $1.4 trillion in spending power, retreating from these principles undermines both consumer trust and employee success.”

The statement also suggests other common functions of ERGs will cease, such as recruiting from more diverse sources, volunteering for or supporting community organizations, or advocating for a more equitable or welcoming workplace.

Behind The Curtain

Harley-Davidson is not the only company to make this change. Though most are holding steadfast, notable companies cutting DEI programs include Zoom, Microsoft, Meta, DoorDash, CNN, John Deer, Polaris, and Tractor Supply.

Many of these scalebacks were direct results of conservative influencer videos, criticizing “woke” policies of the companies, receiving millions of views.

Though in these cases the bullies seem to have won, at least for now, their influence seems propped up by its own bluster.

Since July 29 the Starbuck video has been viewed 673,000 times, but only liked 17,000 times. The Strickand video has been viewed 2.5 million times, but only liked 25,000 times.

And even then, likes aren’t people (or votes, for that matter). A single person can open up unlimited profiles to garner free likes — or pay a fee for a great deal of engagement. A simple search quickly found a company that for $119.99 guarantees delivery of 20,000 likes for the post (or posts) of your choice within five days.

These companies are being persuaded by metrics that are breathtakingly easy to manipulate, led by influencers who openly admit they are pandering for attention.

“I tweet for the love of the game, not the money. But hate = engagement,” read a subsequent tweet from Strickland. “‘Those democrats really are ruining this country’ vs. ‘these dirty f***ing commie freedom hating f***s, they try to censor us, turn your kids gay, tax you to pay for illegals.’ What tweet do you think trends?”