In this research, the authors focus on the essence and role of inclusiveness, the transformation of its treatment in society, and support for the influence of universities inclusiveness on the level of their competitiveness from the position of the global rankings of higher education institutions. The authors used multidisciplinary and systemic approaches, which combine the theories and concepts of philosophy, law, sociology, pedagogics, and cultural sciences. Due to this, inclusiveness is considered a worldview and moral and legal concept implemented through pedagogical approaches based on cultural diversity and could be used in the interest of higher educational establishments as a factor and indicator of competitiveness. In this research, the authors consider theoretical and conceptual provisions of inclusiveness and identify its role in higher education. They also characterize the main problems and specific features of ensuring inclusiveness in higher education and emphasize the different treatment of this definition in post-Soviet and Western scientific thoughts. According to this, the authors focus on the necessity of expanding the understanding of inclusiveness to other categories of vulnerable groups of society, apart from people with disabilities. The authors determine the connection between the inclusiveness of universities and their competitiveness according to global educational rankings. This is an additional argument in favor of further development of inclusiveness in higher educational establishments in Russia and Central Asia and the necessity for expanding its influence on all categories of vulnerable groups.