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A new Netflix documentary is coming to our screens next week. It is powerful, wildly amusing, and features one of the world’s most beloved comedians and actors, Will Ferrell, on a journey of education about what it means to be transgender.
In Will & Harper, Ferrell is joined by his best friend Harper Steele, an award-winning writer he met on Saturday Night Live nearly thirty years ago. Steele embarked on a gender transition in 2022, coming out as a trans woman to Ferrell and her friends at the age of 61.
“Look, I'm not a very political person, but just by nature of being trans, I'm now a political person in a way,” she wrote to her friends. “I just ask you as my friends to stand up for me. Do your best to, if I'm misgendered, just speak up on my behalf, that's all I ask.”
Ferrell, recognizing his diminuitive knowledge about the trans community and what it means to be a trans person in America in 2024, decided the best thing to do would be to invite Steele on a road trip journey of education, self-discovery, and friendship.
What is Will & Harper about and why should employers take note?
A synopsis of the documentary, which already has a swathe of positive critical reviews and boasted two standing ovations following screenings at the Sundance Film Festival, describes how Ferrell and Steele “push past their comfort zones as they re-examine their relationships to these spaces, and to each other, in this new light.”
Ferrell’s immediate response to support, to learn more, and to reassure his friend that nothing about their friendship would change, is a perfect example of true ‘allyship’ to the LGBTQ+ community.
His desire to educate, empathize, and empower is as novel as it is moving. Steele is correct in her statement that by simply coming out as a trans woman and living as her true self, she has become a political person. Trans rights are an increasingly politicized issue, with 2024 marking the fifth consecutive record-breaking year for the total number of anti-trans bills considered in the US, across 43 different states.
The dangerous and deadly impact this is having on the lives of trans people cannot be ignored, including by employers. A 2023 survey from the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, found that 42% of transgender adults in the US have attempted suicide.
That bears repeating: 42% of transgender adults in the US have attempted suicide.
Moreover, the 2023 Deloitte Global LGBT+ Inclusion at Work report found that 55% of all trans employees experience non-inclusive behaviors at work. 66% said their identity played a role in being denied important assignments and 73% said it played a role in being overlooked for promotion.
Deloitte’s research emphasizes just how important it is for HR professionals to ensure a culture of learning and discovery. Bias against LGBTQ+ and trans employees comes from a position of ignorance. If staff, managers, and leaders are not educated then the non-inclusive (and illegal) barriers against trans employees will continue. Careers will be damaged. Lives will be lost.
Educate and act: Supporting trans employees at work
Ashley T. Brundage, President & CEO of Empowering Differences, former national VP of DEI at PNC Bank, and an out and proud transgender woman, has previously told HR Grapevine why employers must offer education, as well as medical policies or coverage and leadership representation, to tackle cases of bias and discrimination against trans employees.
“We need to address them so people feel safe in the workplace,” Brundage said. “People want to gain empowerment through the actions of their leaders and managers. That should include them taking a stand against transphobic rhetoric.”
As Ferrell and Steele show us in their heartwarming documentary, this empowerment comes through learning and discovery. Through conversation. Through community.
All staff should be trained on supporting the inclusion of LGBTQ+ employees but consider particularly the impact of an influential figurehead like Ferrell who is happy to be vocal about their own journey of education and allyship.
So, when the documentary hits your screens on September 27, watch Ferrell’s moving example of unconditional love for a friend. Learn from Steele’s journey of discovering who she is and what it means to be a trans person. And reflect on what more you could be doing to educate your workforce about how they, like Ferrell, can be a true ally. The lives and livelihoods of your trans employees depend on it.
Read more advice on how to support your trans employees and on creating effective LGBTQ+ training.
