Tracy Carlson[edit]

For twenty years, I was the woman who smiled and nodded. The one who stayed late without being asked. The one who laughed at bad jokes and apologized when she hadn't done anything wrong. I was excellent at being small.

Then I turned forty-two and got passed over for a promotion—again. Someone less qualified, but louder. Someone who took up space.

That night in the parking garage, I made a decision. Either I start being brave, or I leave.

I stayed. And I started saying things. The things I'd been swallowing for two decades. "Actually, I disagree." "That's not okay with me." "I need you to stop doing that." My voice shook every single time. I did it anyway.

Some people didn't like the new Tracy. Some meetings got uncomfortable. But something else happened too: I started getting respect. Real respect, not the pitying kind you get for being accommodating.

I'm in my fifties now. Still in corporate America, still fighting the same fights. But I'm not small anymore. I say what I think. I ask for what I want. I walk out of rooms that don't serve me.

This wiki is for everyone who's tired of being small. You can be brave. It's terrifying. Do it anyway.

— Tracy Carlson, saying the thing since 2018