Baroness Sharp is a Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords.

Since her appointment to the Lords, she has served as the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Education and Employment; Further Education, Higher Education and Skills; Innovation, Universities and Skills; and Science and Technology.

She is Vice-chair of the Associate Parliamentary Skills Group, and the parliamentary group on Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning. She is treasurer of the Parliamentary University Group.

Baroness Sharp was a lecturer at the London School of Economics from 1964 to 1972, and became a Research fellow at Sussex University in 1981. From 1992 to 1999, she was Director of the Economic and Social Research Council.

She has published widely on science and technology policy.