To Build an Extended Family: Feminist Organizational Design and Its Dilemmas in Women-Led Non-Governmental Elder Homes in China

Using qualitative data collected in non-governmental elder homes, this article examines the innovative institutional orientations and service models that have emerged in China’s young nonprofit sector. Women-led non-governmental elder homes develop a feminist approach in their organizations, which emphasizes equal and reciprocal interactions between service providers and clients, and between the owners of the organizations and the staff. They seek support from the local state while resisting the increasingly powerful market ideologies that have shaped the practices of many other eldercare centers, but are constantly challenged by suspicious officials and the owners of profit-seeking service organizations. The study uncovers contentious heterogeneity among nonprofit organizations and suggests multifaceted relationships among state, market, and the nonprofit sectors in China, which are often obscured in the current literature.