This article discusses collaborations among participants in research on Adivasi (indigenous) women in Odisha, India. The focus is on the researcher–gatekeeper dialogue by unravelling spaces of inclusion and exclusion among partners in the research. We give voice to one particular gatekeeper, in an attempt to understand the power gatekeepers and researchers have and can exercise both together and within their own domains. The authors conclude that regardless of how much effort is made to create a level playing field, inequality continues to exist among participants. Hence, it becomes important to understand the role and power of each participant in a research process as well as their contribution to creating spaces of inclusion.