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?
I mean, there’s also historical context to be considered here. Throughout history (and still today in many places) women have been treated as subhuman, or at least as lesser to men; in many cultures, married women were literally considered the chattel of their husbands. In that context, using the term “female” which almost explicitly carries no connotations of personhood feels a lot more like a hateful slur. I don’t think “male” really carries that same historical baggage, though.