Companies from Harley-Davidson to John Deere are backing down on DEI

• Harley-Davidson is pulling back its DEI programs, following backlash from a conservative activist.
• Robby Starbuck has led social media campaigns against companies for their DEI practices.
• Other companies that withdrew or toned down their DEI initiatives include John Deere, Polaris, and Tractor Supply.

Motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson is the latest company to back down from diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, following pressure from activist Robby Starbuck, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.

Leveraging his social media influence, Starbuck, a prominent conservative activist, has criticized companies for their DEI practices. He argues that these initiatives do not align with the values of companies' largely conservative consumer bases.

Starbuck told Bloomberg that he plans to target an undisclosed company with a largely conservative customer base for his next social media campaign.

The move away from DEI policies is part of an ongoing wave of backlash against diversity programs at American companies. Tech companies such as Microsoft, Meta, and Zoom recently cut DEI programs this year, Business Insider reported in July, and law firms, including Winston & Strawn, faced lawsuits for affirmative action.

While activists like Starbuck are loudly criticizing companies and other groups, 61% of Americans support DEI practices, according to a Washington Post-Ipsos poll in April.

Starbuck told Bloomberg that he'd like to see the elimination of DEI practices and to "bring back a sense of neutrality and sanity" to American corporations. He did not respond to BI's request for comment.

Here are how some companies have cut their DEI programs following Starbuck's campaign.

On Tuesday, Harley-Davidson said on X that it would drop diversity-based spending goals from suppliers, halt socially motivated employee training, and withdraw from an annual LGBTQ acceptance rating by the Human Rights Campaign, Bloomberg reported.

Harley told Bloomberg that the company was "saddened by the negativity on social media over the last few weeks, designed to divide the Harley-Davidson community," following Starbuck's calls on X for the company to apologize and change its policies.

John Deere has pulled back on its DEI commitments, including no longer participating in cultural awareness events and abolishing the company's pronoun policy, BI reported in July. While John Deere did not publicly announce the reason for its decision, the shift came following online criticism from Starbuck in a video from X, which garnered over 5 million views in July.

Tractor Supply significantly scaled back its DEI programs, including eliminating diversity roles and withdrawing from Pride event sponsorship. The company also announced that it would no longer provide data to the Human Rights Campaign, and it would end its carbon emission goals. This came after Starbuck's criticized the company for promoting what he labeled as "woke" policies, NPR reported in June.

While Starbuck did not specifically target Polaris, the Harley competitor has reduced its DEI efforts, including removing any mention of the term from its web pages. In a statement to Bloomberg, the company emphasized its intention to abstain from political discussion.

Harley-Davidson, John Deere, Tractor Supply, and Polaris did not respond to requests for comment by Business Insider sent outside business hours.