Crossword Genius

There's not a single woman amongst them (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

wives

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'there's not a single' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this defines the answer.

'woman amongst them' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'woman' could be 'w' (abbreviation eg in Woman Police Constable) and 'w' is found in the answer.
The remaining letters 'ives' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't understand.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for wives that I've seen before include "Spouses" , "See 11" , "Men's partners in marriage" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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