I can only relay my experience.  My rheumy says that I have one of the most acute and active cases of AS that he has ever seen. He is one of the leading researchers of AS, along with other autoimmune diseases.  So personally, I do not think that it is written in stone that AS progresses more quickly with men than women.  I also think that women are often misdiagnosed more often in the "formative AS years" and therefore is no base line.  Women in childbearing years are more likely to be told that AS symptoms are stress, physical exertion, sprains, strains and spasms when in fact more women are ACCURATELY diagnosed in the late 20s/early 30s.  The progression of the disease in women is therefore only tracked after years of misdiagnoses and damage so any changes afterward are significantly less than those of men diagnosed much earlier in the disease.  That is my two cents.  :)

From SAA.  Http://www.spondylitis.org/press/news/512.aspx
Differences in Progression of Ankylosing Spondylitis Between Men and Women

Posted on: 7/25/2011

A study published in Current Rheumatology Reports set out to
examine the differences in progression of ankylosing spondylitis in men
and women by examining x-rays. Results showed that, "Female AS patients
showed more cervical structural lesions, but male patients overall
showed more rapid progress."

146 AS patients were analyzed twice within 6 years using modified
Stokes AS Spine Score. "More females showed slow radiographic
progression, and more males showed fast radiographic progression, while
moderate progression was similar for both genders."

Thus, this study shows that there may be distinct differences in how ankylosing spondylitis progresses between men and women.Full report here.  
Http://www.metapress.com/content/j10610t8kk530383/