A multistage optical switch includes a stage-to-stage connectivity scheme that provides equalization of losses encountered as optical signals traverse switching crosspoints. Each stage includes more than one switching unit having a first array of input ports and a second array of output ports that are selectively coupled by varying the crosspoints between transmissive states and reflective states. The input ports of a particular switching unit and the output ports of the same unit have rankings that are reflective of the number of optical crosspoints that must be traversed by optical signals propagating between input and output ports having the same ranking. High ranking output ports of the switching units of one stage are optically coupled to low ranking input ports of the subsequent stage, thereby defining stage-to-stage optical paths that ensure equalization in the sums of the crosspoints that are traversed when optical signals propagate through the two stages. Preferably, the connectivity of the second stage to a third stage is a mirror image of the connectivity of the first and second stages.