CLUBS that employ women in 'traditional' football roles could receive exemptions from the football department cap if an idea raised at last week's club CEOs meeting is adopted.

The suggestion was just one of a number of big-picture ideas canvassed in a wide-ranging discussion on how AFL clubs could get more women involved at every level.

AFL.com.au understands the idea surfaced after a club CEO said that structural incentives might help create opportunities for women in roles such as coaching, strength and conditioning, football analysis or recruiting.

St Kilda employed Peta Searle as a development coach this season in a groundbreaking move, but women's roles within football departments have often been confined to specific professions such as dieticians, physiotherapists or team managers.

Under current rules, clubs are forced to pay a luxury tax if they exceed a soft cap on football department spending, a move that particularly affected the planning of powerful clubs such as Collingwood, Hawthorn and West Coast.

However, the funding of some positions, such as player development managers, are not counted under the cap to ensure clubs employ them.

One club CEO contacted by AFL.com.au said the exemption idea was one of a number of good ideas raised to promote diversity but it was important to note it did not dominate the discussion. 

He said CEOs had universally agreed during the discussion that the employment of women in significant roles within football clubs, even if the numbers remain relatively low, had made clubs better. So, finding ways to attract more women to the industry was important. 

Richmond has a female president in Peggy O'Neal, while many clubs have a growing number of female executives. Geelong's general manager of people and culture, Rosie King, became the first female club CEO when she took over from Brian Cook when he had an extended period of study leave in 2013.

The AFL last week elevated Elizabeth Lukin to its executive as general manager of corporate affairs and communications in a restructure that occurred just a week after former executive Dorothy Hisgrove resigned.

League chief Gillon McLachlan restated as recently as last week that gender diversity was a key priority for the AFL and he was committed to providing pathways for talented women in the football industry.