Good intentions are not enough to create more inclusive workplaces. When people with influence remain silent or leave the responsibility for change to others, existing power structures often remain untouched. In White Men, I Need You!, Sema Burney makes a direct appeal to white men in leadership and other positions of influence: active allyship needs to become part of how they lead and work.
Drawing on more than 20 years of experience advising leaders and organisations as a DEI consultant, Burney offers a practical approach to turning good intentions into meaningful action. The book is structured around four steps: Awaken, Absorb, Acknowledge and Act.
Readers are encouraged to understand how power and identity shape workplace experiences, listen to perspectives that may challenge their assumptions, recognise when silence contributes to harm, and use their influence to support change. Rather than treating allyship as an abstract idea or a matter of individual goodwill, the book focuses on concrete choices and behaviours in everyday professional life.
The title deliberately addresses white men, who continue to hold a disproportionate share of leadership positions and decision-making power in many organisations. Burney argues that progress towards equity requires their active involvement – not as people who take over the conversation, but as people who recognise their position and use it responsibly.
The book is also relevant beyond its primary audience. Its framework speaks to anyone who holds power or privilege and wants to become a more effective ally. It offers a practical starting point for reflecting on responsibility, influence and the role each person can play in shaping a more inclusive workplace.
About the Author
Sema Burney is a DEI consultant, speaker and author whose work focuses on helping leaders and organisations navigate questions of power, privilege, belonging and inclusion. She brings more than 20 years of experience advising leaders and organisations, and is known for an approach that makes complex and sometimes uncomfortable conversations more accessible.
Drawing on her experience as a woman of colour in corporate environments, Burney uses storytelling, research and real-world examples to help people recognise workplace dynamics that can otherwise remain unspoken. Her work encourages leaders to move beyond good intentions and take practical responsibility for building more inclusive workplaces.
In White Men, I Need You!, she turns this experience into a direct call to those who hold significant influence at work: allyship requires awareness, listening and action.
