Former BBC China editor Carrie Gracie has described her fight for equal pay as “worse than breast cancer” as she said she believes she will never be given a major presenting job at the corporation again.
The journalist resigned from her role in January in protest at inequalities at the BBC, accusing the corporation of having a “secretive and illegal pay culture”.
Last month the broadcaster apologised for underpaying Gracie and reached an agreement over her back pay. She will donate the funds to gender equality charity The Fawcett Society.
Speaking to the New Yorker magazine, Gracie, who was treated for cancer in 2011, said her battle for equality was “definitely worse than breast cancer”.
She added: “The stress comes from all the judgment calls along the way.”
Gracie also said she accepted that standing up for herself would have an impact on her future career.
“I will not ever get a big flagship programme now,” she said. “You can’t be seen to be rewarded for the trouble you’ve caused.”
Earlier this year Gracie, who is still employed by the BBC, told MPs that the corporation treated women who spoke out about pay disparity as “the enemy”.
Since then, dozens of the BBC’s staff have been sharing their salaries on secure spreadsheets to ensure colleagues are not underpaid.
Lucy Bailey, a producer on Newshour, told the New Yorker that the process was helping to “empower” staff.
After the BBC and Gracie resolved their differences, director-general Tony Hall said: “I am pleased that we’ve been able to move past our differences and work through things together – we can now look to the future.”
Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire