He explicitly stated it: his observation that people of that particular age and gender make up a large portion of the employees at his local hardware store, and

He explicitly stated it: his observation that people of that particular age and gender make up a large portion of the employees at his local hardware store, and those same workers know "bugger-all" about most of the products on sale. Also, where do you live where there is a large population of retirement-age women who know lots about home improvement? Would it have bothered you if he had said "teen-aged males" instead?