They write = Ellos escriben o Ellas escriben. The women write = Las mujeres escriben.

Ken, you said that so much better than I did! I'm sorry if I confused you Anthony. One of the things that used to confuse me a lot in Spanish was how ella can refer to not only women or girls but to anything that is classified as feminine in Spanish within certain contexts. Don't worry, as you see it used more and more it will become clear.

Don't worry Anthony. I think you've got the right idea. It just depends on how accurate you want to be. Technically it means "they" but it is more specific. Ellas could refer to anything designated as female. Just like in English, pronouns are used after you know what they refer to (ex. I used "they" in this sentence and you know it refers to "pronouns"). If the sentences leading up to this sentence were talking about women, then ellas refers to women. If the sentences before it referred to first grade girls, then ellas would refer to first grade girls. Since most nouns are designated as either male or female, ellas could technically refer to anything designated as female, such as tables (mesas)... as long as the subject has already been made clear in the preceding sentences.

Yes, "ellos" is "they (men)" and "ellas" is "they (women)". But you can't just replace "they" by "the women", perhaps looking at the singular where English has the gender distinction too makes that clearer: él escribe = he writes, ella escribe = she writes, not "the man writes" or "the woman writes".

Wait a minute. If 'Ellas escriben = The women write' is wrong, then what significance does ellas and ellos have? It has to be 'a for they women' and 'o for they men'. I thought I had this nailed, now I'm confused again.