This study aims to analyse the implications of the expansion and diversification of Latin American systems of higher education for equity of access and participation across a set of broadly defined ?equity groups? -- low socio-economic status (SES) people, blacks/indigenous people, those from rural and isolated areas, and women. Building upon the literature on institutional diversity in higher education (HE), it seeks to assess to what extent different institutional arrangements, and types of institutions that emerged within them, have been capable to increase equality of educational opportunities. By considering six key dimensions of the higher education fabric (governance, teaching, research, third mission, internationalisation, social inclusion), we additionally compare the efficiency of HE institutional models and landscapes in successfully including disadvantaged groups of students. Conceptually the study aims to refine the institutional typologies, sophisticating the measures and understanding their effects through systematic comparisons between countries in the region..