Aims. Gender influences distinct risk profiles for Alzheimer's disease (AD), as well as in earlier stages of subjective cognitive decline (SCD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The electroencephalogram (EEG) presents a cost-effective solution for monitoring scalp correlates associated with cognitive decline. In this study, we explored the gender-related effects on EEG correlates during event-related potentials (ERPs) time-locked to target correct responses in a sustained visual attention task, specifically the 3-choice vigilance test (3CVT).Methods. We enrolled 86 SCD patients (59F), 40 MCI patients (25F), and 19 age-matched healthy individuals (8F) and analysed instantaneous voltage differences during the stimulus encoding phase (0-200ms) in occipital channels and during the decision phase (300-600ms) in central channels.Results. Analysis of gender-aggregated groups (Fig1A) reveals disparities in P1 and N1 potentials. Gender-based categorization reveals persistent disparities in N1 and P1 potentials among women and men, notably in N1 between HS and patients (Fig1B), with distinct P2 patterns emerging in men (Fig1C). Encoding in gender-defined conditions showed no significant ERPs differences in HS (Fig1D). Among SCDs, men show heightened P2 (Fig1E); women exhibit elevated P1, with MCI women showing further increased P1 potentials (Fig1F). Task performance correlates with clinical condition, worsening notably in MCI women (Fig1G). No significant gender differences found in low vs. high performers with MCIs; instead, a trend towards increased performance potential confirmed (Fig1H and Fig1I).Conclusion. Gender-related encoding differences provide valuable insights that can be useful for diagnosis and as potential specific predictors of cognitive decline progression.