This chapter critically examines the political context surrounding gender equity research in NSW during the period we conducted the Gender Matters research, and brings this together with insights from students into the impediments to change in schools that purport to be sensitive to gender inclusion. We interrogate how political interference can impact research trajectories and public access to knowledge, and block efforts for gender justice in schools. The first part of the chapter outlines the complexities of ethics processes in the public and independent school sectors in NSW. The second part of the chapter draws on a focus group with students from an elite independent single-sex school who actively sought out the researchers despite institutional obstruction. It considers how silencing mechanisms operate to shut down young people’s voices when it comes to topics that are deemed to be controversial or sensitive, despite their demands to be heard. The students identify the conservative influences of parents, donors, and school governance structures that obstruct gender inclusion and policy change. They critically examine their school’s endeavours to negotiate a gender-inclusive policy, while it remains blind to how racialisation and other differences create hierarchies and inclusions. The difficulties of seeking change in a well-resourced school with an overtly liberal-feminist ethos are seen by these students as paying lip service to inclusion in an inherently exclusive environment.