AI That Collapses Time: Why Women Must Claim This Moment

For most of my career, I have been fascinated by how professionals work, how we create value, lead, and balance work with life. As the broker and owner of Ridgeline Real Estate and the founder of RAIN, I have seen firsthand that one of the biggest game-changers AI brings to our industry is that it can collapse the time it takes to do tasks. AI does not just change what we do, it radically speeds up how fast we can do it. For women, who statistically have less time, that shift is nothing short of revolutionary.

Household labor still falls disproportionately on women. The data is clear. On an average day, 87 percent of women and 74 percent of men perform household activities. When they do, women spend 2.7 hours compared to 2.3 hours for men. Globally, women perform about 2.8 more hours per day of unpaid care and domestic work than men. Women also average 20 to 30 minutes less sleep per night than men due to these additional responsibilities. The result is that women start every day with less free time, making it harder to take on stretch projects, pursue training, or simply rest and recharge. This constant time scarcity limits not only personal well-being but also professional growth.

When transformative tools arrive, those who adopt them first gain the most leverage. Unfortunately, there is already a gender divide in AI adoption. In a recent study, 44 percent of men reported experimenting with generative AI compared to 33 percent of women. Across 18 studies, women were 20 percent less likely to use generative AI tools. Globally, women make up just 29 percent of AI-skilled workers. If women are already short on time and slower to adopt a tool that returns time, the inequality compounds. But this moment is also a massive opportunity if we act now.

I have lived this transformation personally. For years, I sent out a weekly newsletter to my local Realtor board, a key relationship-building and recruiting tool. It was essential to my business but consumed an entire workday each week. Once I integrated AI into the process, that same newsletter took just one hour to create and send. That single change gave me back nearly seven hours each week.

With that reclaimed time, I began noticing other areas where AI could help me move faster and focus on higher-value work. I now respond to emails more quickly, often drafting professional replies in seconds. When agents need specialized contract language, I can generate and refine drafts in minutes. I have built tools and systems that answer my team’s most common questions, reducing interruptions and giving them independence. Slide decks that used to take hours now come together in a fraction of the time. Video and audio content for training can be recorded and edited almost instantly. Social media posts and marketing campaigns that once took days can now be produced in a single sitting.

The most remarkable outcome is this: I have been able to start building a second business while running my first without increasing my workweek. In the past, this would have been impossible. There simply were not enough hours in the day to grow a real estate brokerage while simultaneously launching a new company. AI did not give me more hours, but it fundamentally changed how I use the ones I already have.

Historically, leverage belonged to the C-suite. Senior leaders had assistants, copywriters, analysts, and support staff. Everyone else had to do it all themselves. AI changes that. Today, every professional can have a virtual team at their fingertips. Need a polished client email or marketing piece? AI drafts it instantly. Complex data reports are summarized into actionable insights. Task lists can be generated and tracked automatically. Scheduling and reminders can be managed by AI tools that keep you on track like a personal assistant. For the first time, these capabilities are universally accessible, not just reserved for those at the top.

Here is the paradox. The people who would benefit most from AI often have the least time to learn it. Women, often in roles like coordinators, administrative managers, or other support-focused positions, have not traditionally had access to this kind of leverage. Now, with AI, every small step you take pays you back in hours saved. It does take time to learn a new skill, but every minute you invest in learning AI should return multiples of that time. Your first win creates the space for your next step forward.

Women professionals can start small by identifying one repetitive workflow they control and exploring how AI can streamline it. Track your time savings and reinvest those hours into further training or strategic work. Every minute you reclaim is a minute you get to choose how to spend.

AI will not replace jobs, but people who understand AI will replace those who do not. For women, this moment represents an unprecedented opportunity. I'll say it again: In the past, you had to be a C-suite executive or in a senior leadership role to access real leverage through assistants, analysts, or support teams. Now, that same level of support is available to anyone who chooses to learn these tools. AI gives every professional, regardless of title, the ability to work like they have a team behind them. Women should pay close attention to this shift and reinvest every minute they can into mastering AI, because every skill learned today compounds into greater freedom, influence, and impact tomorrow. This is an amazing time in history where women do not have to wait for permission, position, or resources to claim that kind of power, but only if they start now.