The BBC's China editor has resigned her position in Beijing in protest over what she called a failure to sufficiently address a gap in compensation between men and women at the public broadcaster.
Carrie Gracie's departure is the latest aftershock from the BBC's forced publication last year of pay levels for its top earners that showed two-thirds of those in the top bracket were men.
Presenting the corporation's flagship "Today" programme on BBC Radio 4 on Monday alongside John Humphrys, the BBC's highest-paid news broadcaster, Gracie said the support she'd received for her decision had been "very moving" and showed the degree of frustration among many over the issue of equal pay.
A 30-year veteran of the BBC who speaks fluent Mandarin, Gracie said in a statement on her website addressed to BBC viewers that she could no longer perform her job at a high level while battling with bosses over pay equality.
Gracie said she learned that two of the BBC's four international editors - both men - made at least 50 percent more than their two female counterparts.
She said she was not seeking more money for herself, but only demanding that the BBC observe British law requiring equal pay for equal work.
Gracie said she would stay with the BBC and "return to my former post in the TV newsroom where I expect to be paid equally."
The BBC on Monday quoted a spokeswoman as reaffirming its commitment to equal pay and saying a separate report on pay for on-air staff would be issued in the "not too distant future."
Gracie's move received voluble praise online from her colleagues, with veteran BBC journalist Lyse Doucet tweeting, "Brilliant Brave."
Other senior women at the BBC offered support, including Clare Balding, Emily Maitlis and Sarah Montague.
The list published last year showed that two-thirds of the BBC's highest earners were men, with the highest-paid woman earning less than a quarter of the highest-earning male star.
Many BBC men were also found to be receiving far higher salaries than women in comparable jobs.
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