The Seattle Women's Commission wrote a letter to Mayor Mike McGinn today asking him to consider seeking out women to fill two vacant department head positions. The letter also asks for a meeting with McGinn.

Noting that only four of 17 city departments are currently headed by women, the letter says the shortage of female leaders a the city "is surprising and disappointing considering Seattle is a city filled with so many exceptional women leaders in the business, non-profit and government fields."

"We ask you to address this imbalance by increasing the number of women on your senior leadership team," the letter continues. "We strongly encourage you to prioritize an equitable candidate pool to ensure women are given the opportunity to apply for these open positions, as well as to advance from other positions within City government."

The mayor has plenty of opportunity: Deputy Mayor Phil Fujii and parks director Tim Gallagher are the two most recent high-ranking officials to resign their posts. Eleven city departments are currently headed by "acting" directors appointed by McGinn; all but two are male. Fujii's position is currently vacant.

A McGinn spokesman has not yet returned a call for comment.