Women are set to make up half of Australia's federal police force within the decade.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Andrew Colvin has said he wants to introduce gender targets for the force, to increase the proportion of female officers to 50 per cent over the next 10 years.

Mr Colvin told the ABC that currently, fewer than one in five sworn uniformed staff were women.

"It's not just surprising, it's disappointing that ... less than 20 per cent of our sworn uniformed staff are women," he said.

"We've set a range of targets. We've said that within a decade, we want to have a 50 per cent ratio [within] the AFP, women to men."

Mr Colvin acknowledged that the targets – including boosting the proportion of women to 35 per cent within five years - were not easy.

He said he was expecting resistance.

"They'll take time for us to achieve," he said.

"This will be uncomfortable at times, but it's important work. Real reform, real change is uncomfortable."

Mr Colvin unveiled the targets last night in a speech titled An Adaptive and Innovative AFP.

He stated that across the workforce:

35 per cent of all staff are women

35 per cent of all staff are women Fewer than 20 per cent of uniformed staff are women

Fewer than 20 per cent of uniformed staff are women 15 of 84 senior leaders are women

Mr Colvin said that "the data is clear, and so is the need for action".