I’m not a native English speaker, so forgive my ignorance, but isn’t “women” a noun, not an adjective? Why not just say “female artists” or “female writers”?
As a side note, I’ve also literally never seen anyone say “men artists” or “men writers”. What gives?
Yes, that is if you turn “female” into a noun, which does sound weird and dehumanizing, but using “women” as an adjective just sounds incorrect. Maybe people do that because they try to avoid saying “female” at all costs to avoid being accused of misogyny or dehumanization.