“Woke” Harley-Davidson abandons DEI, bowing to pressure from the right

Good morning.

For a few glorious months in my early twenties, I would occasionally ride on the back of a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy. My roommate Don owned it and sometimes he would drive me to a biker bar in Toronto to have a drink with his boyfriend who also owned a Fat Boy. From that limited experience, I assumed Harley embraced diversity.

On Monday, Harley-Davidson posted a statement on X to tell the world it was backing away from policies like “supplier diversity spending goals” to “better align” with its customers. “Saddened” by the backlash initiated by activist Robbie Starbuck, who pushed Harley, John Deere and Tractor Supply to drop DEI initiatives in recent weeks, he capitulated.

Are brands like Harley really turning their backs on diversity or, as several CEOs have told me, are they just choosing not to talk about it? Harley distanced herself from DEI on a social media site where she faced much of the “anti-revival” wrath. On Harley’s website, there was language about inclusion, but no statement like the one posted on X. A brand beloved by biker gangs and wealthy weekend warriors clearly wants to appeal to everyone in the face of declining motorcycle sales.

Diversity is good for business. Angry customers are not. Those who dislike companies that support DEI policies are not all right-wing extremists or racists, any more than those who push companies to take a stand on DEI are all left-wing extremists or doctrinaires. Miscommunication is rampant. And Harley’s recent decision to move some of its production to Thailand — in part to avoid retaliatory tariffs from import restrictions imposed by Biden and Trump — hasn’t helped it win fans.

The question is how to deal with it. For investors, betting against companies taking action on social issues has proven to be a losing strategy, according to a recent Yale study. As a platform for brand positioning and customer engagement, X is inadequate. Why engage with your most ardent critics when you could control the message on your website or direct communication with your core customers?

Consumers want to see themselves in the brands they buy. I drink Bud Light, for example, and I support LGBTQ+ rights. What bothered me about Dylan Mulvaney’s ad (vs. this one) was the apparent disdain for March Madness during March Madness. For a basketball fan, it’s bad advertising, regardless of your stance on transgender rights.

Some leaders, like TruStage CEO Terrance Williams, argue that some issues are too important to be sidelined or shrouded in silence. As a $5 billion-a-year insurer that distributes products through credit union partners, addressing inequity is central to his company’s business model. “We need to recognize the bias to make sure we never repeat it,” he says. “There are real impacts on society, so we have to deal with it… Some may disagree and I welcome that disagreement. I welcome dialogue because it means we are talking to each other.”

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Diane Brady
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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com