Annie Mac said women in prominent roles in the music industry “should be obvious, not an anomaly”.

The DJ and presenter will be leaving BBC Radio 1 on July 30 after 17 years at the station, with Clara Amfo set to resume the Future Sounds show on weekdays.

Speaking to Radio schedules on his decision to resign (via The Guardian), Mac explained, “I feel annoyed to be grateful that we have a breakfast show host on Radio 2 [Zoe Ball] or 6 Music [Lauren Laverne].

“We shouldn’t be grateful. It should be a given, not an anomaly.

Mac went on to say that she was “very encouraged” by Radio 1 and “the commitment they have to women”, adding that lining up Amfo as a replacement was “the most sensible and inspired choice”.

“It’s great, but there is still a long way to go,” she said.

Explaining that she has “never personally suffered” from sexism in the music industry, Mac said there is an element of “symbol”.

“I’ve seen over the years this symbolic idea of, ‘Well, as long as we have Annie there, the box is checked,'” she said.

Mac, who is leaving Radio 1 to “write fiction and create podcasts,” has long spoken out against gender imbalances in music – last year calling Reading & Leeds for their male dominated bill.

“I feel so disheartened by this line-up from Reading and Leeds,” she wrote on Twitter. “The flagrant lack of will to represent women.

“For all the 16 year old girls going to their first festival in Reading and Leeds 2020. Just know you belong to these stages.”

Announcing her departure from Radio 1 in April, Annie Mac said she was “always in awe of the magic of music radio,” adding: “Thank you for allowing me to come into your lives. Thank you for having brightened up my days Thank you, thank you, thank you for listening.