The resource theory of asymmetry is a framework for classifying and quantifying the symmetry-breaking properties of both states and operations relative to a given symmetry. This has been shown to be useful, for instance, for finding the consequences of symmetries of open and closed system dynamics beyond Noether’s theorem. Also, this resource theory naturally arises in the context of quantum reference frames, because the relevant property of a quantum state that determines its usefulness as a quantum reference frame can be understood as its asymmetry relative to a symmetry group. In this talk I present an overview of the resource theory of asymmetry, and discuss some of its applications.