Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

The Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion seeks to foster positive, productive collaboration among all members of a diverse Rice Business community—students, faculty, staff, alumni and other stakeholders. By ensuring that every member of the community feels welcomed, valued and respected, our efforts will help to create and sustain a community well-versed and equipped with competencies and resources necessary to succeed in a world that recognizes and embraces our individual and collective uniqueness.

Diversity — Psychological, physical, and social differences that occur among all individuals; including but not limited to race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, age, gender, sexual orientation, mental or physical ability, and learning styles.

Equity — Guarantee of fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. The principle of equity acknowledges that there are historically underserved and underrepresented populations and that fairness regarding these unbalanced conditions is needed to assist equality in the provision of effective opportunities to all groups.

Inclusion — The act of creating environments in which any individual or group can be and feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate. An inclusive and welcoming climate embraces differences and offers respect in words and actions for all people.

Collectively, all three of these are necessary to create a culture at Rice Business where we respect and value our differences, leveraging them as sources of strength and innovation — on campus — and in the business world.