Large US companies scale back or abandon diversity pledges
Some of America’s largest companies, from Walmart to MetaPlatform, have scaled back their diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, known as DEI.
Nearly two years after Harley-Davidson announced it would scale back its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, activist Robbie Starbuck is back in action, accusing the iconic motorcycle company of breaking its promise to eradicate “wokeness.”
Starbucks led a consumer boycott in 2024 over a variety of “woke” crimes, from hosting LGBTQ+ boot camps to supporting gay and transgender equality laws, and calling on do-or-die Harley buyers to switch brands.
“Harley-Davidson said in a video on social media platform
His main concern is the leadership of Artie Starrs, who took over as Harley-Davidson’s new CEO in October.
“Are you going to bring in a CEO who projects a masculine identity for the brand after a very turbulent period where the brand collapsed and was now seen as weird and woke and weak? The brand’s pro-American identity. Well, maybe not so much,” Starbucks said before accusing Starz of sponsoring an LGBTQ+ golf tournament with a Pride group that raised money for San Francisco Pride and launching anti-racism training when it ran Top Golf. In addition to being an educator, he also serves as the CEO of Pizza Hut.
Starbucks also questioned Starz’s selection of Marcus Fisher, former CEO of Minneapolis-based advertising agency Carmichael Lynch, as chief brand officer, who encouraged increased transgender representation.
“Is this the person who can turn around a brand that has an awakening problem?” Starbucks said.
USA TODAY has reached out to Harley-Davidson for comment.
Starbucks says ‘woke’ allegations will continue
Starbucks was at the forefront of a wave of social media backlash against corporate America’s work on DEI and gay and transgender people in the wake of the 2020 police killing of George Floyd.
He started by targeting heartland companies such as farm equipment maker John Deere and rural retail chain Tractor Supply, whose shoppers tend to be male, rural, and politically conservative, but then expanded his campaign to the nation’s largest companies, including Ford, Lowe’s, and Walmart.
Harley-Davidson was also an early target. “Let’s eliminate the causes of social problems and discord,” Starbuck told the company at the time. “We don’t need a DEI department anymore. No more training for woke people, no more donating to woke causes, no more donating to Pride parades.”
After a two-week social media onslaught, Harley-Davidson responded. The company issued a statement saying it was “saddened by the negative feedback on social media,” said it had not had a DEI department for several months, had no hiring openings, and had stopped pursuing spending goals related to supplier diversity. Going forward, Harley-Davidson also pledged to no longer participate in benchmark metrics used by the Human Rights Campaign to measure how friendly company policies are to LGBTQ+ people.
But on Monday, Starbucks warned the company on X: “You have a lot of explaining to do. We thought you might have learned your lesson from last time.”
When USA TODAY asked for examples of “woke” activities within Harley-Davidson, Starbuck said he would address them immediately. “We have a lot of work to release in the coming weeks,” he told X.
This is Starbucks’ first campaign in a while. When Donald Trump took office for a second term and issued a series of far-reaching executive orders sweeping the federal government and the private sector toward diversity efforts, Starbuck said he began working behind the scenes, negotiating directly with business leaders to reform DEI efforts and making sure companies weren’t reversing concessions they had won.
“We try to be fair to companies by giving them time to correct course after pledging to eliminate woke policies, but Harley-Davidson’s recent adoption makes it clear that they haven’t learned their lesson,” Starbuck told USA TODAY in a statement. “At the end of the day, I’m a megaphone for consumers who feel left behind by brands chasing far-left brownie points. At some point, consumers have to leave behind companies that continue to make decisions that go against their values. For Harley, that time is now. They don’t have another chance.”
