Labor's acting leader Tanya Plibersek is urging the Liberal Party to face the "cultural" issue of low female participation, after a senior Liberal MP called for quotas to ensure more women are selected as candidates for federal parliament.

Assistant Minister for Regional Development Sussan Ley is urging the NSW division of the Liberal party to pick a "sensible number" such as 40 per cent to improve the party's reputation for female representation.

Labor has close to 50 per cent women in its ranks, which Ms Plibersek says took decades and a "determined effort" to reach.

"I think you only have to look at some of the Liberal blokes that have been elected to parliament to see that the merit principle plainly doesn't apply to Liberal Party pre-selection," she told reporters in Adelaide on Friday.

"There are some pretty unimpressive characters there, and if they're there on merit I'd eat my hat."

"Of course it needs to be implemented as soon as possible. I'll certainly be encouraging my NSW division, where honestly there are some really good women who are pushing this barrow," Ms Ley told The Australian on Friday.

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"You have to pick a sensible number and date but then we're heading in the right direction, we're heading away from what is a bit of a cliff face."

Ms Ley's colleague Jason Falinski also believes the party should do more to ensure future candidates are from more diverse backgrounds.

"Clearly men and women are equal," the NSW MP said.

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"I don't think the community expects us to fix it overnight but they do expect to see us addressing the issue."

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party currently has 21 women candidates and 102 male candidates for the lower house ahead of the federal election, which is due by May.

However, candidates have not been confirmed for 10 electorates.

The figures mean the party could have the lowest number of female candidates for a general election this century, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

READ MORE Outgoing Liberal MP Julia Banks calls for gender quotas

Women hold 12 of the coalition's 74 seats in the lower house, with the number dwindling after Julia Banks quit the party to sit as an independent.

(AAP/Lukas Coch)

Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis also announced in September she won't recontest the election, pointing the finger at bad behaviour in the NSW division, as Jane Prentice lost preselection for her Brisbane seat.