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Serving the Underserved BY PIERRE TAPIE As business educators address diversity on their campuses, I think it's important that they all keep in mind a broad definition of the term. There is a diversity of human diver- sities in the world, and each school might deal with a different kind, depending on where it is located. Some types are based on individ- uals' ethnic, cultural, or national backgrounds. Others are based on gender, age, and relative health or physical abilities. But I believe the kind of diversity business schools need to encourage most is social equality between the rich and the poor. I would say that for every country in the world—whether it's the U.S., the U.K., or an emerging economy like China or India— one of the major issues is how to ensure that brilliant socially dis- advantaged students can have the best chances for a bright future. I don't make that argument mainly out of a sense of generosity or personal morality. I believe if we don't make education available to all, we literally put the economy at risk. The riots in England last year echoed the riots we had in France in 2005. There is similar unrest in countries all over the world. Too many nations privatize the profits but socialize the losses. That angers the voters and causes the bottom of the pyramid to rise up in protest. Education is the best answer to social unrest. 22 January/February 2012 BizEd tions of diversity from both a mar- keting and an HR point of view. We also address diversity through our social enterprise initiatives, which include an institute and a chair devoted to social entrepre- neurship, an incubator for social enterprise, and a general man- agement program geared toward executives in the nonprofit sector. But our program that has had the most impact is the one designed to integrate socially disadvantaged teenagers into higher education throughout France. Called "Une Grande École: Pourquoi pas moi?" ("An elite university: Why not me?"), the program targets high- potential high school students from poor neighborhoods. It encourages them to pursue difficult, long-term educational goals—specifically, the attainment of masters' degrees—at one of France's prestigious grandes écoles. Thus, students in the pro- gram not only are encouraged to Diversity programs are so important because every established institution— whether a school or a government— will be affected by the risks that arise when we fail to address social issues. At ESSEC, our diversity ini- tiatives include gender research, programs related to social engage- ment, and programs that improve physical access to students with disabilities. We have a chair holder in diversity who researches how diversity is handled at work and teaches the managerial implica- continue their educations, they are prepared for admittance into some of France's most elite schools, which typically enroll only about 6 percent of high school graduates, mostly from the upper class. We launched the "Pourquoi pas moi?"(PQPM) program in 2002 in partnership with the local authori-