Sharon gained her doctorate at the Centre for Women's Studies at the University of York, researching the experiences of women priests in the Church of England. After undertaking a research project on chaplains and the support of trans students and staff with Prof. Esther McIntosh, Sharon moved on to full time lecturing and researching at York St. John. Her current research activities include a project on the experiences of working class clergy (funded by the Church of England) and a project exploring transparency and laywomen's experiences of parishes that do not support women's leadership (funded by WATCH).