Even in 1999, apparently, some careers are still considered nontraditional for women. This is the basis for a new series of books aimed at girls aged 11 to 14: "Cool Careers for Girls" (Impact Publications, $12.95 softcover, $19.95 hard cover).

The authors, Ceel Pasternak and Linda Thornburg, want to encourage girls to expand their career horizons and dispel the myth that women are only eligible for certain careers.

Pasternak is a free-lance magazine editor who covers workplace issues; Thornburg writes about human resources and careers.

One book in the series -- "Cool Careers for Girls in Sports," published in January -- features University of Maryland's director of athletics, Deborah A. Yow.

Yow, 48, has been Maryland's athletic director since August 1994.

As a girl, her favorite sports were softball, track and, above all, basketball.

She thought that her career zenith would be reached when she became a basketball coach, she says. Her experience coaching basketball at schools like the University of Kentucky and University of Florida earned her a great reputation.

Her success led to an opportunity to become a university's director of athletics in 1990 at St. Louis University. In that sense, she did not really choose her career, she says; "The career chose me."

A female athletic director was pretty rare. When Maryland hired her, she became the first woman to head two Division I athletic programs. At that time, she was one of only four women in charge of sports programs at the top 106 colleges in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's I-A division, its highest designation.

There were 13 women athletic directors among all the 302 NCAA Division I colleges, she told a Sun reporter in 1994, "but I'm the only one in the second generation." She says, "Leadership isn't a gender issue, but we have a great opportunity to make an impact."

In a male-dominated career field, the potential for sexism is great, but Yow says, "If you focus on things like that, you can't focus on doing your job."

She advises girls to choose any career they wish and not accept stereotypes that label certain careers for only men or women.

Girls may find ideas for other careers in the "Cool Careers for Girls" series. Other books out are "Cool Careers for Girls in Animals" and "Cool Careers for Girls in Computers." Coming in June is "Cool Careers for Girls in Health"; in July, "Cool Careers for Girls in Engineering"; and in August, "Cool Careers for Girls in Food." The books can be found in most large bookstores.

In each book, women share their successes and frustrations and tell how their career choices have affected their personal lives. There's also a checklist of desirable personality traits for each job, book and video resources, salary information and how to find related organizations, scholarships, mentoring programs and internships. The information is easy to read, with an array of pictures and fun facts to accompany nearly every page.

"Cool Careers for Girls" is just in time for National Women's History Month this March -- the series highlights women pioneers in various fields.

Pub Date: 03/21/99