Women in science are still struggling against long-standing prejudices and biases.

The two British scientists became known around the world as individuals who developed in vitro fertilization, but both viewed their colleague, Gene Purdy, as an equal partner in this discovery and development. One of them, Dr. Robert Edwards, tried to find out about her work and contribution, but his efforts were mostly unsuccessful, and her efforts remained completely unknown for four decades.

"She contributed as much to our work as Patrick Stepto or I did," Dr. Edwards wrote in a letter to Oldham Health in 1981, adding that Dr. Stepto acknowledged Purdi's importance in a book published by the two.

Dr. Edwards' letter was among the documents published in June from the archives of Cambridge University, where Dr. Edwards taught physiology. Purdi, a nurse and embryologist, traveled with him to Oldham in the north of England for 10 years where they developed the in vitro fertilization process together.

He wrote:

"She contributed to the project as much as I did."

At the time he wrote it, authorities were preparing to erect a memorial plaque in Oldham to mark the birth of Louise Brown, the world's first "test tube baby" in 1978.

The correspondence of Dr. Edwards, who died in 2013, showed that he was persistent in his efforts to get Purdi equal recognition, but his efforts were unsuccessful. Oldham Health Institution put his name and Dr. Stepto's name on the plaque, leaving out Gene Purdy. Another plaque with the same inscription was placed in 1992 at the Oldham District General Hospital where Brown was born.

It was not until 2015 that the Royal Society of Biologists placed a plaque honoring all three of these researchers.

Professor Dama Athena Donald, a physicist at Churchill College in Cambridge, where the archive is located, said:

"Purdy's case is really hard not to look at as a product of sexism, and the situation is further exacerbated by the fact that Purdy was a trained nurse, not an academic scientist."