Jaya Arunachalam was an Indian social worker and the founder of Working Women's Forum, a non governmental organization based in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, working for the welfare of marginalized women.
Starting in 1978, she channeled her activities under the aegis of the forum for organizing poor working women and provided them with seed capitals as micro credit, with assistance from banks, to start their own small businesses.Arunachalam was born on 8 February 1935 in Tamil Nadu in a Brahmin family and has master's degree in economics and geography.
She was a member of the governing council of the Society for International Development, Rome, the first woman from south Asia to sit in the council.