Is Harley-Davidson Woke?

Is Harley-Davidson Woke in 2026?

By the measures this site tracks, mostly no — not anymore. Harley-Davidson became one of the most visible corporate DEI retreats of 2024. That August, following a social-media pressure campaign led by activist Robby Starbuck, the company stated it had not operated a DEI function since April 2024, has no hiring quotas, and was ending supplier diversity spend goals, as reported by CBS News. The same statement said Harley would stop participating in Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index scoring, review training materials for socially motivated content, and refocus sponsorships on the riding community.

The Human Rights Campaign confirmed the split from its side: in a September 2024 press release, HRC said it docked Harley-Davidson 25 points under its Responsible Citizenship criteria on the 2025 CEI, and noted it will keep rating Fortune 500 companies whether they participate or not. Pressure has since come from the other direction too — shareholder advocate As You Sow filed a 2025 proposal asking the board to justify the rollback — evidence the retreat has held.

The 2025-2026 wrinkle is leadership. CEO Jochen Zeitz, long criticized by conservatives, retired on October 1, 2025, and former Topgolf chief Artie Starrs took over, per the company's announcement. In June 2026, the Daily Caller News Foundation reported allegations that Starrs and new chief brand officer Marcus Fischer promoted DEI and Pride initiatives at prior employers, with Starbuck warning of backsliding. Those allegations concern past roles; Harley-Davidson has announced no reinstatement of DEI programs or HRC participation.

Harley-Davidson scores 10/100 on the BuyWokeFree index, a rating that reflects the cumulative multi-year record — including its pre-2024 DEI era — rather than its largely rolled-back posture today.

Company Overview

Harley-Davidson, Inc. is one of the most iconic American manufacturing brands in history. Founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1903, the company has spent over 120 years producing heavyweight motorcycles that have come to symbolize American freedom, individualism, and the open road. With annual revenues of approximately $6 billion and a dealer network spanning more than 100 countries, Harley-Davidson is far more than a motorcycle company — it is a cultural institution.

The company's customer base has historically skewed older, male, and decidedly conservative — which makes its foray into aggressive DEI programming under CEO Jochen Zeitz particularly jarring to its core demographic. The backlash that erupted in 2024 is perhaps the most dramatic illustration of what happens when corporate leadership loses touch with its customers' values.

ESG & Sustainability

Harley-Davidson maintains active sustainability commitments that outlasted the DEI rollback. The company has committed to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions across all scopes by 2050, with near-term targets to reduce Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions from U.S.-owned facilities by 50% by 2030 (against a 2017 baseline). The company also tracks energy intensity improvements on a per-motorcycle basis and has invested in renewable energy sources across its manufacturing operations.

Harley-Davidson's electric motorcycle subsidiary, LiveWire, represents both an EV play and a sustainability narrative. The company has framed electrification as central to its mission of "preserving and renewing the freedom to ride" — a framing that wraps environmentalism in its authentic brand values rather than purely political signaling.

The retention of these ESG commitments — even after dropping DEI — is the primary reason Harley-Davidson retains a non-zero woke score.

DEI Programs

Harley-Davidson's DEI reversal in 2024 was one of the most high-profile corporate DEI rollbacks in recent memory. After conservative activist Robby Starbuck launched a public campaign highlighting the company's DEI activities — including membership in the Wisconsin LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, hosting an LGBTQ+ "boot camp," and supplier diversity programs — Harley-Davidson responded with a comprehensive rollback:

• Announced it had operated no "DEI function" since April 2024
• Confirmed no hiring quotas
• Eliminated supplier diversity spending goals
• Withdrew from HRC Corporate Equality Index participation
• Committed to removing "socially motivated content" from employee training materials
• Indicated it would drop LGBTQ+ Pride festival sponsorships

Starbuck declared it "a win for our movement." The speed and comprehensiveness of the rollback suggests that Harley-Davidson's DEI programs were never deeply embedded in the company's core culture — they were imposed top-down under leadership that fundamentally misread the brand's customer base.

LGBTQ+ Advocacy

Prior to the 2024 rollback, Harley-Davidson had accumulated notable LGBTQ+ corporate activism credentials, including membership in the Wisconsin LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce, Pride sponsorships, and internal LGBTQ+ programming. All of this was largely dismantled following Starbuck's campaign.

The company's stated pivot is to "focus exclusively on growing the sport of motorcycling" — essentially a strategic retreat to brand-core activities and away from identity-politics-driven programming. This is exactly the kind of course correction that values-based conservative consumers want to see from American companies.

Political Activity

CEO Jochen Zeitz became the focal point of Harley-Davidson's political controversy. Zeitz drew criticism for statements that reportedly compared his sustainability crusade to Taliban-style cultural transformation — rhetoric that further alienated Harley's patriotic, freedom-loving customer base. Significant shareholder discontent followed: major investor H Partners (holding 9.1% of shares) resigned from the board demanding Zeitz step down, and at the 2025 shareholder meeting, 48% of shareholders voted to withhold support from Zeitz — a razor-thin survival margin.

Zeitz subsequently announced his departure, making him effectively a casualty of the anti-DEI pushback. The CEO search process was confirmed in Q4 2025. Harley-Davidson's political donation pattern historically reflects standard manufacturing industry interests, without a strong partisan lean comparable to consumer-facing companies with explicit DEI agendas.

Consumer Impact

Harley-Davidson's 2024 DEI rollback represents one of the strongest examples of conservative consumer power changing corporate behavior. The company heard its customers, reversed course quickly, and paid a genuine price for its prior missteps — including boardroom turmoil and a CEO departure. That accountability is meaningful.

At a Woke Index score of 10/100 — Mildly Woke — Harley-Davidson is not fully in the clear. Its net-zero sustainability commitments and ESG reporting keep it out of the "not woke" tier. But for motorcycle buyers who were concerned about the company's direction, the 2024 course correction offers real cause for optimism. Ride with confidence — just keep watching to make sure the new CEO doesn't steer the bike back into the ditch.