The Drive for Diversity: Scott Swid on ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Mission

Promoting the necessity for greater equality is a cornerstone of ROKiT Venturi Racing’s identity and by flying the flag for the underrepresented, we compete today in pursuit of a better, more equal, tomorrow.

This vision fuels our mission to spark meaningful, lasting change and by standing together in unity, we strive to challenge and redefine the culture of motorsport.

As ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Principal Owner and Chairman, Scott Swid is at the head of our efforts and has been at the forefront of our drive for diversity over the past 18 months.

Following our Pride Month celebrations throughout June, Scott discusses how Monaco’s only racing team is challenging the status quo.

“This isn’t just a box-ticking exercise. Whether we’re a team or not, or whether we have a platform or not, we would be talking about our social values because it’s how we want to live,” explains Scott.

“We want to support our friends, family, colleagues, and people who may not feel comfortable, and not have access to the same resources, and may not feel equal in the way that others do. It’s a sense of social equity and balance that drives us. This is fundamentally important, regardless of our audience.

“The fact that we’re a sports team means that we have a larger audience than the average individual, and we make sure to utilise our platform in the best possible way - to create a feeling of inclusion and to remind people of issues that matter to us.

“We believe that a person’s sexual identity, gender and cultural background have no bearing on their ability to do their job - on the contrary, we believe that there is performance to be found in our differences - it’s really that straightforward for us.”

After most recently supporting the LGBTQ+ community and previously raising awareness around mental health and the need for greater gender parity in motorsport, ROKiT Venturi Racing seeks to unite through education.

As Scott explains, however, this mission is far from over and has only just begun.

“Society today is very divided and when we talk these values, it’s authentic to us and the way we run our team” continues Scott.

“Not everyone shares our beliefs, but a part of what we do is educating and we’re proud of what we’ve been doing for the past few seasons.

“We want everyone to have access to opportunities in this industry and we know that the best people come from different backgrounds and have a variety of perspectives.

“In an ideal world, the best people for each role would always rise to the surface on their own merit but we know that there is a huge issue connecting talent with opportunity - the motorsport industry isn’t unique in that sense.

“More than 50% of our department leads are women but we need to be at the forefront of pushing for real substantial change rather than just talking about it. We’re just at the start of that - there’s so much more to come.”

By leading in open and honest discussion, ROKiT Venturi Racing has fostered a holistic and cohesive working environment where all are welcome.

Continued recognition from the international motorsport community, while a source of pride, also renews our motivation and serves as inspiration for the next steps in our ongoing mission.

“When I see the support that we receive from our fans, it definitely makes me proud,” adds Scott.

“Alongside pride, it’s also invigorating because it wills us on and motivates all of us to keep pushing one another and be the best that we can be.

“As a team, we fully acknowledge that we’re not going to please all of the people, all of the time.

“Sometimes we have haters but, in a sense, I view this as a mark of success because it means that we have been heard. That’s part of the process andI view it as another chance to help to bring people on the journey.

“For me personally, my values happen to mesh with the team and creating an organisation in which we have a real cohesion on all of our values is something we can be proud of.

“Our partners share our vision and we have their full support which means a huge amount to us, but we still have work to do. We’re only at the beginning and we’re learning every step of the way.”