Carrie Gracie has resigned from her post as one of the BBC's most senior international journalists, accusing the corporation of an unequal pay culture, CNN said.
"I believe you have a right to know that it [BBC] is breaking equality law and resisting pressure for a fair and transparent pay structure," Gracie noted in an open letter addressed to BBC viewers, which she posted Sunday after departing as the news organization's China editor last week.
The announcement comes as disputes over pay equality escalate within the walls of the BBC.
Last year The Telegraph reported on a study of the corporation's wages, which found a 9.3 percent median pay gap and 10.7 percent mean between men and women.
It was reported that more than 62 percent of the top earners within the BBC were men, while 58 percent of the lowest paid were women.
Amid these findings, the BBC pledged to tackle the situation by introducing more women into senior roles.
In a statement, the corporation said it had previously carried out an "independent judge led audit of pay for rank and file staff which showed 'no systemic discrimination against women," CNN revealed. "A separate report for on air staff will be published in the not too distant future," it said.
However, Gracie said in her letter that the corporation was "not living up to its stated values of trust, honesty and accountability," adding that, following the revelations made last year, "many have since sought pay equality through internal negotiation but managers still deny there is a problem."
In light of this, the senior journalist, who has worked for the BBC for 30 years, announced she would return to her former post in the BBC newsroom, where she expected to be paid equally, The Guardian noted.
The move has garnered the support of other leading BBC presenters, including the likes of Clare Balding, Kirsty Wark and Sarah Montague, who banded together to support Gracie on social media.