Is using "women" or "woman" instead of "female" to describe an occupation/position correct?

Female can be used as a noun or adjective. Sometimes female is used instead of woman. Neither are technically incorrect.

It’s an overreaction. Because people are (somewhat rightly) upset about the use of the word female as a noun, some people have stopped using it as an adjective as well (which, personally, I think is kind of dumb).

here's an [article](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://www.eait.uq.edu.au/blog/2023/06/case-for-saying-women%23:~:text%3DThe%2520words%2520%27female%27%2520and%2520%27,while%2520%27male%27%2520is%2520not.&ved=2ahUKEwjhqKPAstSLAxVgAxAIHZhGKToQFnoECAMQBQ&usg=AOvVaw278SCz65KFeXJhmbpQxaKL) about your question. calling someone female can be seen as a derogatory term.

One oddness of English is that people might say women veterans or woman doctor, for example, but not men veterans or man doctor. It’s another example of men being seen as the default, hidden misogyny if you will. For that reason, when necessary, I use female and male in that context.

Pairing the noun "female" with the noun "men" is the problem. That's what's offensive. If you use the noun "female", be sure to use the noun "male" to balance it out. It's OK to use "female" as an adjective modifying a noun. One problem with English is there's no noun to describe a female or male person without also expressing age ranges.

Yeah if you have for example some creature which is both a cat and a dog, it would be cat-dog, not feline dog. I think this is the same thing lol

To me using female (and male) makes the focus be on reproduction, like animals, for me. It sounds weird, like this: "The teacher with female genitals who bears pregnancy and whose mammary glands feed the young." "The office worker with male genitals who convinces the female that he is worthy of breeding and who impregnates the female with his sperm." Whereas woman and man focuses on gender; the conscious knowledge humans have of what we are, and the cultural concept of gender. It is more correct to use gender in these contexts.

I'd say male or female teacher personally. "Woman teacher" somewhat implies a person who teaches women rather than a woman who is a teacher. Edit: think like e.g. "geography teacher".

Female should be used as an adjective, woman should be used as a noun. Female doctor is better than woman doctor as presumably her position as a doctor is the key item, her sex is added information.  Never use "females" as a noun though, at least when describing humans. It's overly clinical and can be considered dehumanizing.

I would use “female teachers” and “female drivers” I guess, but I’ve never said those things in my life. Were the things you saw online derogatory by chance? My advice is to 1-only ever use female (or male) as an adjective, never a noun and 2-only mention if someone is a woman (or any gender) if it’s relevant. Don’t just call someone a “lady pilot” or complain about “woman drivers” or other generalizations.

In American English, prefer *woman* as a noun and *female* as an adjective. These are the most neutral words. “A female,” “woman driver,” “just us girls” or “for the ladies,” might be appropriate in some contexts, but they’re either too formal or too informal for interactions in the workplace.

female would be better here in this context. I find the term “woman driver” is often used with a negative tone. I would feel uncomfortable with “female” being used on its own though, I’m a woman not a female.

While correct, at least in my dialect (southwestern American) “woman doctor” would be quite rude and disrespectful. “Female doctor” is simply referring to a category of doctor.

I try not to watch mainstream news much, but my guess would be misogyny in one form or another. I’m sure someone else will have a better answer for you lol.

Using it as an adjective, I think is fine. Using it as a noun is a bit more complicated. In a scientific etc. context, it's fine. Using 'females' instead of 'women and girls and baby daughters' etc. is probably fine too. But some see it as reductive, de-humanising. I don't think that's objectively true - e.g. people write 30F in their self descriptions, not 30W - but you should be aware that some can be offended by it.

Yes, it's correct. Compound of two nouns where the first noun modifies the second. The use of the plural "women" as the modifier is a bit of an exception to the usual rule because modifying nouns are usually used in singular form. Someone might choose style this because it sounds a bit less biological than "female" to them. Maybe the writer mentally associates the word "women" with expressions like "women's rights" or "women's issues" that are more social than biological.

Female and male are for sex, woman and man are for gender. But woman and man don't have an adjectival version, so people just use those.

I feel like this might be dialectal. I'd lived in Idaho, Nevada, and Utah, and never heard "female" for something other than livestock, then lived in Oregon for a few years and never heard "woman" there at all.

I occasionally hear "woman ____," but it is awkward and incorrect. By awkward, I mean even the person saying it can tell it's wrong as they say it. Just NEVER use "woman/lady doctor" unless you want everyone to think you're talking about the gynecologist.

Ok so female can be used in two ways, as an adjective and as a noun. As an adjective, it's perfectly fine. "the first female astronaut" is best because the other options are feminine (which doesn't tell you the astronaut's gender just that they like dresses or makeup or whatever. "A feminine man" is a working construction while "a female man" doesn't make sense) or like you said "woman" which just isn't an adjective it's a noun. So "the first woman astronaut" makes sense but sounds wrong for that reason. Female as a noun (and to be clear this applies to male as well) sounds very clinical. While not wrong, it sounds more at home in a nature documentary than describing a person. "These tigers are very ferocious, even the females". It has, consequently, become very popular among people who hate women. Seeing someone use "female" as a noun has become a bit of a red flag about the person and their politics. I imagine that when you're seeing that it's a bit of an over correction to avoid using female but not understanding the adjective vs noun part of it. TLDR: Woman as an adjective makes the meaning clear enough but is wrong because woman is only a noun unlike female which is a noun and an adjective

I would say “female teacher” cuz it sounds better as a modifier rather than a noun, which can be seen as derogatory and rude

It should be "female doctors" etc. but "women" if no other noun. I think "women doctors" is an overcorrection, since a lot of people will say "females." Which is incorrect and undesirable

this is a little bit of a contentious issue. you're right in that "female" is used as an adjective while "woman"/"women" are used as nouns. the problem is that some people will use "female" as a noun too to describe people (e.g. "I talked to some females"), which is also technically correct, but lots of women see as reductive and derogatory. as a result, some people try to avoid saying "female" altogether, and use "woman"/"women" as an adjective too in short, the best practice is probably to keep using "female" as an adjective and "woman" as a noun, but don't be surprised if you hear people mixing them up

"Female" as an adjective can be confusing when talking about women. because "woman" has been rather culturally adjectivalized. A lot of nouns are like this in English (*college* students can be *Environmental Science* Majors, people can be *Taylor Swift* fans, *dog* walkers and *delivery* drivers are often self-employed, etc.). Additionally, women and female do not refer to the same group, there is a lot of overlap to be sure, but there are women who may not be female and female people who may not be women (because trans people and intersex people may exist in one of these groups, but not necessarily the other). Furthermore, many misogynists use female in a very derogatory way, not just because it reduces women to a biological function, but because it makes sexist stereotypes and hate speech come off as more scientific than it really is (I'm fairly certain this has already been brought up in previous comments). I apologize if this came off as rude, I understand as an English and Spanish speaker that English noun adjectivalization is absolutely unmatched. **Female** (used outside of a scientific discussion) can be **less accurate** even though it is **more prescriptively** **correct**.

You are correct in that female/male doctor is how it used to be; it's 'the rule'. It no longer is the rule. Either are valid. The reason people have switched to woman/woman for this is because misogynists use female by itself in a negative way. Don't ever use female without the noun. "The female walked into the room" is rude. Female doctor is okay. This is an example of how words and phrases change through time.

Female is Latin So when you say it “feels” more logical this is actually the subconscious belief that Latin is some how more upper class than actual English.

Female is actually the correct word there. Female is an adjective, woman is a noun. There has been a backlash because some women hating incels have been using the word females as a noun and now some people think the word female is always wrong, it's just ignorance on both sides

English speakers use nouns as adjectives all the time, especially when (as here) the “correct” usage can seem clinical or dehumanizing or problematic in some other way. I am NOT saying this connotation or usage is logical: “Man” is hardly ever used as an adjective the way “woman” is; “male” is definitely preferred. But nobody ever said speaking a language was a logical process. Well, some people *have* probably said it, but evidence suggests otherwise.

I’ve heard both used but in my experience “female” is more common 

The correct answer is, as you can see from the true diversity in the responses, it's complicated and it depends. Region, personal preference, age, personal feelings about gender issues, etc. Grammatically it's simple: both can be used as a noun, both can be used as an adjective. But either as the adjective could potentially offend someone or sound odd to someone. If context allows, IMO it is best to avoid these phrases in the first place, particularly when used to make generalizing statements that can come off as stereotyping and condescending, even if unintended. (If I see the phrase "women drivers" OR "female drivers," I'm cringing already in anticipation of the coming insult.) So, again, when the context works, I'd go for something like "women in sports" vs. "female/women athletes" or something. But to be clear, this is not a grammatical issue. Some may dislike "woman" as an adjective, but we regularly repurpose nouns as adjectives in English. And we don't always agree on which of those repurposed nouns-as-adjectives sound "right."

technically it's correct to use two nouns in combination that way, but it's a really strange way to describe it. female doctors or women who are doctors sounds a lot more natural than woman doctors.

It's a fairly simple question that doesn't really have an answer. Things are moving away from using "female" in the types of examples you provided. Also, using female can be offensive at times. Ghetto men sometimes use "female/females" instead of "woman/women", which I personally despise. Also, female refers to someone's sex, which is different than gender, as others have noted.